TOP FIVE CROSSOVER STARS

THE PANDEMIC-INDUCED shutdown of motorsport has led to a huge rise in online esports events. And with drivers around the world having plenty of time on their hands, some big names have made guest outings in other categories; Lando Norris recently won a virtual Indycar Series race, for instance, while Max Verstappen starred in an online Aussie Supercars tussle. Here are five motorsport heroes who proved just as versatile in the real world.

5 Jacky Ickx

This Belgian is best known for winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans six times, plus he twice finished runner-up in the Formula 1 World Championship. During his career, Ickx also scored a European Touring Car Championship title, won the Bathurst 1000 in Australia and took an outright victory in the epic Paris-dakar rally raid.

4 Stirling Moss

As highlighted in the numerous recent tributes to him, Moss displayed incredible versatility throughout his career, winning rallies and major sports car races to go alongside his Formula 1 successes. The result was a CV that, even if lacking an F1 championship, remains one of the finest ever compiled by a racing driver.

3 John Surtees

Surtees is the only man to have won world championships on two and four wheels. He came first in the 500cc Motorcycle World Championship four times before switching to car racing and going on to take the F1 title for Ferrari in 1964. During that season, he also claimed bronze at Le Mans. His talents extended off the track as well: after retiring, he set up an eponymous F1 racing team.

2 Vic Elford

It’s impressive enough that one driver is versatile enough to win the Monte Carlo Rally and Daytona 24 Hours; ‘Quick Vic’ won both on consecutive weekends. He also took two class wins at Le Mans, contested 13 F1 grands prix and won the first-ever rallycross event in a 911 borrowed from a Porsche showroom. When he tackled the 84-hour Marathon de la Route on the Nürburgring, his Porsche team-mates named him ‘the rally driver’ and volunteered him to undertake four seven-hour night shifts. He won that as well.

1 Mario Andretti

The American racing legend won the F1 World Championship for Lotus in 1978 to add to his four Indycar titles. But Andretti wasn’t just a single-seater star: he won Nascar’s Daytona 500 and numerous high-profile sports car races, too (although a Le Mans victory eluded him). In his early days, he was also a star of sprint and midget car racing on dirt ovals.