Surtees doesn't need a knighthood

Every time the twice-yearly honours list is released, the cries and clamours for John Surtees to be knighted are reignited.

Certainly, Sir John Surtees has a nice ring to it, and as the only person to win the world championship on two and four wheels it would absolutely be merited. But his perennial absence from the list hardly matters.

Why? Because his achievements are worth so much more than any kind of honour could be.

There are those who deserve honours for a lifetime of work outside the public eye for whom they are the ultimate recognition, but Surtees has achieved so much in his own right that his name remains one of the most celebrated inside motorsport, and recognised outside of it.

As you would expect for a character who has always let his achievements do the talking, he's also relaxed about the situation.

A story like that of Surtees might never be repeated. There are 32 members of the club of world champions in grand prix racing, but 31 stand behind Surtees through not having done the same with only two wheels under them.

Surtees's background as a biker-turned-grand prix driver wasn't unique (Jean-Pierre Beltoise, who died recently, is another example) but that education did play a big part in what made him so good on four wheels when he made the switch.

Two years ago, AUTOSPORT magazine produced a special issue on Surtees (January 17 2013 available here).

The guest editor, Dan Gurney, summed up what made his old friend such a formidable competitor succinctly.

Surtees and Gurney battle it out during the 1966 British GP © LAT

"You could tell that he was one of those drivers who would leave no stone unturned, technical or otherwise," wrote Gurney.

"He was hungry to find an edge. He probably understood the design and mechanical side better than most because of his motorcycle career and his work with top development people."

But what can casually be called his 'raw talent' behind the wheel of car was clear from the off.

Famously, after he first tested on four wheels, at Goodwood in 1959 behind the wheel of the Le Mans-winning Aston Martin DBR1, he had several top car-racing team bosses expressing an interest in running him.

For his first car race, in a Formula Junior Cooper T52, Surtees put it on pole ahead of a Scottish rising star named Jim Clark.

He was outfumbled in the race, finishing second, but it was no surprise that, four months later, he was taking a works Lotus to second place in the British Grand Prix.

Oh, by the way, he was still winning motorcycle world championships in both 350cc and 500cc machinery that year. Extraordinary is an over-used word, but that's exactly what this is.

It's fair to say that his results in grand prix racing - 'only' six wins at world championship level - does not do justice to how good he was.

His dedication to doing things the right way both on and off-track did sometimes put him on a collision course with those employing him, notably at Ferrari.

But, as history showed, Surtees was in the right when it came to questioning the approach of the team.

When he walked away during the 1966 season that was characterised by regular rows with team manager Eugenio Dragoni, he was in the hunt for a second world title. After leaving, he would only win two more world championship races. But Ferrari hardly thrived in his absence.

After a race-winning stint at Cooper, then in decline, Surtees's approach also allowed him to play a key role in one of the most remarkable grand prix cars ever produced - the Honda RA300 in which he won the 1967 Italian Grand Prix.

Dubbed the Hondola, thanks to the car being produced by Lola and built around the existing Honda V12 engine, the story of the car's genesis is extraordinary. Honda was struggling in grand prix racing and effectively allowed Surtees to work with Lola in its design.

The car only won one race, and Honda's determination to produce its own, in-house, car meant that the success was not built upon, but without Surtees the well-balanced Hondola might never have enjoyed the success it did. Another story that contributes to the legend.

Surtees relives his two-wheeled past at Goodwood in 2012 © LAT

During his grand prix career, Surtees consistently showed that he could race with, and beat, the very best. Jim Clark, Graham Hill, Jochen Rindt, Jack Brabham, Gurney...you could easily construct a case to say he was as good if not better than all of them.

While Surtees's legacy is slightly tainted by the fact he didn't enjoy more success on four wheels, and the long struggle to make his own team work (victory, with the team boss at the wheel, in the 1971 Oulton Park Gold Cup was about as good as it got but it wasn't for want of effort), it's also important to note his continuing contribution to motorsport.

After the closure of the Surtees team, he retained a keen interest in racing at all levels, notably as chairman of the British A1GP team. Today, he is still involved through the Henry Surtees Foundation, named in honour of son Henry, who lost his life in an F2 accident at Brands Hatch in 2009.

That was a terrible blow for Surtees. How could the motorsport gods be so cruel to one who had done so much?

It's a measure of the man that he has even turned tragedy into some kind of positive, raising money for brain injury charity Headway through the foundation.

We should all be grateful that one of the true greats not just of grand prix racing, but racing in general, remains an important part of the landscape.

His skills behind the wheel are too often overlooked when the legends of the sport are reflected on. And making sure his incredible, unmatched achievements on two and four wheels are recognised for just how incredible they are is essential.

That is what is far more important than any kind of 'official' honour.

Yes, a knighthood would be great, and well-deserved. But in comparison to what Surtees has achieved, what does it matter?

If I had a choice between Surtees being addressed as Sir or Mr, then I'd choose the knighthood.

But personally, rather than signing well-intentioned petitions for a knighthood, I'd rather spend my time reading about his successes, watching a video of him winning at Monza in '67 or talking about his triumphs.

Surtees is a true great. That's not just as good as any honour...it's a thousand times more valuable.

In comparison to the unique achievements of Surtees, knights of the realm are common.