Staring Death and Disappointment in the Face
John's run of success following his switch to four wheels was brought to an abrupt halt by a catastrophic accident in practice for the Canadian GP for sports cars at Mosport Park.
 A suspension upright on the Lola failed at high speed, pitching the car into a barrier. On impact it somersaulted and landed on top of John, fracturing his pelvis, seriously damaging his left leg and spine, and rupturing his kidneys.
But within six months of the near-death experience, he was back, testing Ferrari's contender for championship honours in the new 3-litre formula introduced for 1966 F1 campaign.
He kick-started the season with wins in the 1000km race for sports cars at Monza, the opening non-championship round of the F1 calendar at Syracuse, and in the Belgian GP at Spa in June.
But despite his promising return to the cockpit, he quit Ferrari within a matter of days, following a bitter row with team boss Eugenio Dragoni. The disagreement, on the eve of the Le Mans 24-hours race, was sparked by the intense internal politics that he believed were the root cause of Ferrari's under-performance both on and off the track.
"The parting was costly to Ferrari and to me," John confesses today. "I believe we lost one or two World Championships as a result."
Picture: The Lola T70...the car in which Surtees almost lost his life at Mosport
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