King of both worlds to be honoured.

Many tried, but all failed - except one man. Conquering both the two and four-wheeled worlds remains solely the domain of John Surtees, who will be honoured by the MotoGP community at a special ceremony on the eve of the British Grand Prix at Donington Park next Thursday.

Surtees, now a modest 68-year old, was the Valentino Rossi of grand prix motorcycle racing in the late fifties. Riding the exotic MV Agusta machines, he won 38 grands prix en route to seven world titles before switching to four wheels. In 1964, he beat his great rival Graham Hill to clinch the Formula One world championship, driving a Ferrari.

It's a feat that almost certainly will never be repeated. Motorcycle legends Mike Hailwood and Johnny Cecotto proved to be brilliant car drivers, but never made it to a Formula One world title. Last November in a foggy Wales, Valentino Rossi's efforts in the Rally of Great Britain lasted just a few miles.

"It's a different world now and people get into Formula One through karting rather than MotoGP," explained Surtees, who won six Formula One grands prix, "I was 26-years old when I made the switch and Valentino Rossi is only 24, so perhaps he could still have a go - although I think he's more interested in driving a rally car.

Incredibly, it was boredom that gave Surtees (pictured giving Hollywood star Sly Stallone a driving lesson) the idea to combine a career on both two and four wheels. He asked MV Agusta if he could also race in the 250cc class in addition to the 350 and 500. They said no, and so he found a unique way to fill those spare weekends.

"I was pretty busy at the time, riding for MV Agusta in both 350 and 500cc grands prix and for Lotus in Formula One races that did not clash with the motorcycle grands prix," recalled Surtees, who's going to be inducted into the MotoGP Hall of Fame at Donington on Thursday afternoon.

"I don't think I'd totally peaked as a motorcycle racer and I wanted to ride in the 250cc class as well, but MV said no. They also told me I could not drive in any non-championship car races, and so Lotus gave me a car to drive in the grands prix," he added.

Sadly for motorcycle racing, Surtees gave up his two-wheel career at the end of 1960, after winning his seventh world title, to concentrate on his car racing. Certainly, the switch from two to four-wheels seemed to hold no fears for the British rider, who changed from taking on the likes of Geoff Duke and Mike Hailwood to mixing it with Graham Hill and Jim Clark.

"In just my fourth car race, I drove the Lotus in Monaco and, in my sixth race, at Oporto in Portugal, I started in pole and also set the fastest lap of the race," he recalled, "I'd already finished second in the British Grand Prix at Silverstone, which was sandwiched between winning both the Belgium and West German 500cc grands prix."

Despite his success on four wheels, Surtees always felt deep down that he'd left some unfinished business in motorcycle racing and today is a great fan of MotoGP.

"I was still getting better on two wheels and would have probably stayed on them if MV Agusta had allowed me to compete in the 250cc championship in addition to the 350 and 500," he revealed, "My relationship with a motorcycle was very special, taking it to and beyond the limit. You'd be hard pressed to gain that sort of experience, and it was very important to me when I switched to car racing."

Over to you Mr Rossi...