John Surtees will be made a Commander of the British Empire (CBE) in the New Year after featuring on Britain’s New Year’s Honours list released this week.
The Briton is the only person to win a world championship on both four and two wheels. He is a four-time 500cc motorcycle champion and secured the 1964 Formula 1 world championship with Ferrari.
The Order of the British Empire “rewards contributions to the arts and sciences, public services outside the Civil Service and work with charitable and welfare organisations.”
Surtees, who was previously made an Officer of the British Empire (OBE) in 2008 and a Member of the British Empire (MBE) in 1959, has been recognised with a more senior rank because of his ongoing involvement in motorsport and charity work.
He is the ambassador of the Racing Steps Foundation which he co-founded in 2008 and raises funds for the Henry Surtees Foundation, a charitable organisation named in honour of his son who died during a Formula 2 crash in 2009.
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