8 Riders that swapped 2 wheels for 4

As Andrea Dovizioso prepares to find out what racing with a roof feels like, we look back other riders that have succeed (Rossi) and failed (Stoner) in racing cars

JOHN SURTEES

It’s as easy to underestimate the achievements of the late John Surtees as it is hard to overstate them. To win World Championships at the pinnacle of both two and four-wheel competition during an era where mistakes weren’t just costly, they could cost lives, Surtees is a legend of incomparable proportions.

VALENTINO ROSSI

JOHNNY CECCOTO

John Surtees may have been the only person to achieve world championships on both two and four wheels, but for many it is Johnny Cecotto that is regarded as the most naturally gifted regardless of whether he was ‘riding’ or ‘driving’.

WAYNE GARDNER

The first Australian to win the 500cc World Championship in 1987, Wayne Gardner began forays into four-wheel competition at the turn of the new decade, initially with a handful of open-wheel outings before making the full-time switch to touring car racing when he called time on his motorcycle racing in 1992.

CASEY STONER

With Valentino Rossi’s four-wheel ambitions – and achievements – one of the few edges Rossi retains over his great rival Casey Stoner, it is perhaps little wonder the Aussie utilised his earlier-than-anticipated retirement to explore the possibility of moving into car racing.

AARON SLIGHT

He was one of the boldest personalities to ever experience success in the World Superbike Championship yet Aaron Slight enjoyed a quietly understated yet (briefly) successful four-wheel career in touring cars.

CHAZ DAVIES

Much like Dovizioso, Chaz Davies’s Ducati affiliation meant he received a shot at some four-wheel action in the Audi TT Cup but alas, it didn’t quite go to plan…