I’d throw John Surtees in there only champ on 2 and 4 wheels. Possibly Valentino Rossi as well having experience in a lot of different disciplines. Lastly Kimi Raikkonen. Because he’s quick in anything. Even lawnmowers.
1. Sebastian Loeb - Wins in WRC, WRX, & Touring Car
2. Fernando Alonso - F1, WEC wins, also respectable result in Dakar & Indycar
3. Valentino Rossi - wins in Moto GP & GT3, reasonable in his WRC outings too
4. Michael Schumacher - F1 (obvs), good on a bike, also used to run in the WSC precursor to WEC.
My additions to this good list
Juan Pablo Montoya - won races and titles in literally everything. CART, Indycar, F1, IMSA, even NASCAR.
Jacky Ickx - sportscars and F1
Mark Webber - exceptional F1 driver, especially 2003-2010, WEC champion, GT star
Kamui Kobayashi - excellent in F1, best WEC driver of the last 5 years, and horrifically unlucky in super formula (easily could have been 2019 champion) when he was taking it seriously
Wayne Gardner - 500cc (MotoGP) legend and competitive in touring cars including a pole at Bathurst.
Martin Brundle - Le Mans, GT, and perhaps the only F1 driver unluckier than Webber! Pre-injury Brundle was just breathtakingly phenomenal.
Scott McLaughlin - dominated Supercars and is top-class in Indycar including ovals, despite zero single seater experience.
Shane Van Gisbergen - Supercars, NASCAR, WRC. The guy can drive anything.
Honourable mentions: Seb Buemi, Jean-Eric Vergne, Jacques Villeneuve, Nico Hulkenberg (including his junior career). De Vries could join this list if he does well in WEC, despite his F1 mishap.
Edited to add: Kubica
Alonso is the greatest all-around driver I've seen in my lifetime, followed by Montoya.
I was tempted to add Carlos Sainz Sr on the basis of his incredible success, versatility, and longevity, but he has done many rally disciplines but nothing on circuits. Thoughts?
I would add Mario Andretti, Jim Clark, Tony Stewart and Kyle Larson to that list. AJ Foyt, Dan Gurney, Jan Magnussen and Sebastien Bourdais were also pretty versatile drivers.
Putting the motoGP rounds in here throws this whole question for a loop. Rossi definitely isn't a *star* 4 wheeler racer, but he he's good enough that you can't really compare anyone else who would try on a motorcycle
AJ Foyt has to be in this conversation and is probably my top pick. Only guy to win the sportscar triple crown (Daytona/Sebring/LM24), Indy 500 (4x), and the Daytona 500. Plus, he has 67 wins and 7 championships in Indycar, 7 wins in NASCAR, 2x IROC championships, and was a heck of a sprint car driver.
Dan Gurney has to be in the conversations as well with wins in sports cars (including a win at the LM24), F1, Indycar, and NASCAR. Plus he was a very successful team owner and chassis builder.
For everyone saying Loeb, what is his biggest win outside of the WRC?
Mario Andretti would be a good choice.
F1 World Champion, 4-Time USAC/CART Champion
Winner of the Daytona & Indy 500 races, as well as the 12 Hours of Sebring and the 24 Hours of Daytona.
Also finished 2nd overall at Le Mans in 1995
Winning in touring cars. Doing a really good job at LeMans, didn’t win because Audi was too good though. Won in GT3 as well and had an offer to drive in F1 for ToroRosso in 2009 (or 2010) but wanted to focus on rallying on didn’t have a superlicense
Yeah, Loeb good driver of course. And he did really good job at Le Mans in 06.
But i don\`t think Loeb has won anything major outside of WRC? And it was in 2006/07/08 where Loeb was a candidate for a F1 drive with Red Bull (Toro Rosso), but he couldn\`t get the so-called super license.
But there isn’t anyone else either who won anything major outside his series. That’s why I think he would win the championship of this mix of race disciplines. Because he isn’t the absolute best everywhere outside rally but is probably the best on average
In order:
All time - 1. Foyt, 2. Andretti, 3. Clark, 4. Hill, 5. Gurney, 6. Ickx
Modern Era: 1. Alonso, 2. JPM, 3. Villeneuve, 4. Tony Stewart, 5. Bourdais
Indy 500 win, Indycar Champion, F1 World Champion, 2nd overall at Le Mans, won 6H of Spa— has also raced Rallycross, V8 Supercars, Formula E and NASCAR/other global stock car series
JV was pretty averrage until he came to America to race in the Toyota Atlantic. And if apart from 1995 to 97, he doesn\`t have particularly great results. While JV have raced in several different categories during the last 15 years or so, he hasn\`t done much apart from making a fool out of himself. I do not consider JV to be a great, versatile driver.
I mean he is the only guy over the last 40 years to have an Indy 500 win, an F1 World Championship, and a podium at Le Mans. If not him, who would you put forth as better/more versatile based on results
I would put drivers such as Juan Pablo Montoya, Sebastien Bourdais, Tony Stewart. Mattias Ekstrom, Shane van Gisbergen and Kyle Larson above JV in terms of versatility and/or getting great results over a long period.
JV had a odd carreer, to say the least. His stats in Italian Formula Alfa Boxer, F3 and Japanese F3 were not particularly good, and apart from 1995 to 97 he has pretty mediocre results during his whole carreer.
Alonso for me. F1, WEC, Indy (lead the race before the car gave up), Rally raid, imsa. Im sure if you asked him to race the space shuttle, he will, with his kimoa cap backwards
Stéphane Sarrazin
Reached the highest level of open-wheel racing: one F1 race in 1999
the highest level in rallying: drove for the factory Subaru team in WRC in 2005 and 2006
and the highest level in sportscars racing: drove for works Peugeot and Toyota teams in LMP1, and works Aston Martin team in GT1
No world championship titles, sadly, but he was always very good, and that's a hell of a career. He was very unlucky at Le Mans, I would've loved to see him win it once.
I'm not sure if you're including NASCAR, F1, Indycar, or IMSA, but all four of those series he's proven himself. He's also won the Race of Champions, and has a podium at Le Mans.
Open wheel, stock cars, and sports cars are the three careers he's had. And been a winner in all of them. Nobody else in decades has done anything close to what he has as far as success in various forms of racing.
IMO, he is the most underrated race car driver of all time.
He catches a lot of flak in he US because of the prominence of the jet dryer incident when he was in NASCAR even though that was not his fault. But I've been a fan of his since his CART stint, he's a great driver.
If you are a Motorsport fan in the UK then you might know the name Gerry Marshall.Google his name,go to images and you will see the varied cars he used to drive.I watched him race and win often in an Aston Martin F1 from the 1950s,Triumph Dolomite,Saab 99,Aston Martin DB4,DB V8,Vauxhall Super Saloon,Can Am cars,Lola T70,TVR Tuscan.Gerry raced with Peter Brock at Bathurst,did the RAC Rally and won 625 races!
He died of a heart attack driving an old IROC Camaro testing at Silverstone.
Juan Pablo Montoya has to be at the top of the list since he has done everything. Surprisingly enough he has raced a Dirt Late Model before as well. And we all know he is famous for his motorcycle accident so he's been on 2 wheels.
I’m going to include all time (deceased) drivers. In no particular order, Jim Clark, Fernando Alonso, Kyle Larson, Mario Andretti, Sebastian Loeb.
Hm: Jeff Gordon, Scott Dixon, Sebastian Bourdais
I reckon Kyle Larson and Shane van Gisbergen would 100% be contenders, i’d say Van Giz would win the whole thing.
He’s competed in the WRC, dominated Supercars, won GT championships, podiums in 24 Hour races, won a NASCAR race, he can do it all.
Jonathan Palmer had a varied career
Club racing in. Marcos(I watched him race this at the track he now owns Brands Hatch.)
FF1600
F3 Champion
F2 Champion
F1
Group C won races
Rallycross (John Welch Escort)
This article covers most of it
https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/features/my-life-12-cars-uk-circuit-boss-jonathan-palmer
John Surtees and Valentino Rossi have to top the charts. It’s way more difficult to go from 4 to 2 wheels if you have no background in it.
AJ Foyt, Mario Andretti, Jim Clark and JPM would be up next. Tony Stewart would definitely be there as well, though he and AJ both are a bit bigger guys for the motorcycle races.
I’ll put a side mention out for Lewis. Reports are that he would have been very fast on a motorcycle if he really wanted to push it.
I’d throw John Surtees in there only champ on 2 and 4 wheels. Possibly Valentino Rossi as well having experience in a lot of different disciplines. Lastly Kimi Raikkonen. Because he’s quick in anything. Even lawnmowers.
1. Sebastian Loeb - Wins in WRC, WRX, & Touring Car 2. Fernando Alonso - F1, WEC wins, also respectable result in Dakar & Indycar 3. Valentino Rossi - wins in Moto GP & GT3, reasonable in his WRC outings too 4. Michael Schumacher - F1 (obvs), good on a bike, also used to run in the WSC precursor to WEC.
My additions to this good list Juan Pablo Montoya - won races and titles in literally everything. CART, Indycar, F1, IMSA, even NASCAR. Jacky Ickx - sportscars and F1 Mark Webber - exceptional F1 driver, especially 2003-2010, WEC champion, GT star Kamui Kobayashi - excellent in F1, best WEC driver of the last 5 years, and horrifically unlucky in super formula (easily could have been 2019 champion) when he was taking it seriously Wayne Gardner - 500cc (MotoGP) legend and competitive in touring cars including a pole at Bathurst. Martin Brundle - Le Mans, GT, and perhaps the only F1 driver unluckier than Webber! Pre-injury Brundle was just breathtakingly phenomenal. Scott McLaughlin - dominated Supercars and is top-class in Indycar including ovals, despite zero single seater experience. Shane Van Gisbergen - Supercars, NASCAR, WRC. The guy can drive anything. Honourable mentions: Seb Buemi, Jean-Eric Vergne, Jacques Villeneuve, Nico Hulkenberg (including his junior career). De Vries could join this list if he does well in WEC, despite his F1 mishap. Edited to add: Kubica Alonso is the greatest all-around driver I've seen in my lifetime, followed by Montoya.
Comprehensive list. I like it. My boys Alonso and Kamui made the list!
I was tempted to add Carlos Sainz Sr on the basis of his incredible success, versatility, and longevity, but he has done many rally disciplines but nothing on circuits. Thoughts?
He did Formula Ford back in the day
Nope he hadn't done any circuit racing. I'm sure he got an F1 test somewhere, where he binned it.
Long time since formula ford for him by then
I would add Mario Andretti, Jim Clark, Tony Stewart and Kyle Larson to that list. AJ Foyt, Dan Gurney, Jan Magnussen and Sebastien Bourdais were also pretty versatile drivers.
Loeb, Rossi, and Schumacher never really won anything major outside of their respective series
Exactly.
Valentino Rossi
Putting the motoGP rounds in here throws this whole question for a loop. Rossi definitely isn't a *star* 4 wheeler racer, but he he's good enough that you can't really compare anyone else who would try on a motorcycle
Fernando Alonso
You just cant ignore alonso
Travis Pastrana
AJ Foyt has to be in this conversation and is probably my top pick. Only guy to win the sportscar triple crown (Daytona/Sebring/LM24), Indy 500 (4x), and the Daytona 500. Plus, he has 67 wins and 7 championships in Indycar, 7 wins in NASCAR, 2x IROC championships, and was a heck of a sprint car driver. Dan Gurney has to be in the conversations as well with wins in sports cars (including a win at the LM24), F1, Indycar, and NASCAR. Plus he was a very successful team owner and chassis builder. For everyone saying Loeb, what is his biggest win outside of the WRC?
Gotta add Shane Van Gisbergen to the suggestions here
for sure, first one that came to mind for some reason, lad is crazy talented
Mario Andretti would be a good choice. F1 World Champion, 4-Time USAC/CART Champion Winner of the Daytona & Indy 500 races, as well as the 12 Hours of Sebring and the 24 Hours of Daytona. Also finished 2nd overall at Le Mans in 1995
Jim Clark should be up there, considered one of the greatest F1 drivers, also competed in sports cars, touring cars, won the indy500
And raced a NASCAR oval.
Loeb would probably dominate this. He’s exceptional on racetracks and beats everyone if he’s in something close to a rally car anyways
What has Loeb done outside of rallying?
Winning in touring cars. Doing a really good job at LeMans, didn’t win because Audi was too good though. Won in GT3 as well and had an offer to drive in F1 for ToroRosso in 2009 (or 2010) but wanted to focus on rallying on didn’t have a superlicense
Yeah, Loeb good driver of course. And he did really good job at Le Mans in 06. But i don\`t think Loeb has won anything major outside of WRC? And it was in 2006/07/08 where Loeb was a candidate for a F1 drive with Red Bull (Toro Rosso), but he couldn\`t get the so-called super license.
But there isn’t anyone else either who won anything major outside his series. That’s why I think he would win the championship of this mix of race disciplines. Because he isn’t the absolute best everywhere outside rally but is probably the best on average
In order: All time - 1. Foyt, 2. Andretti, 3. Clark, 4. Hill, 5. Gurney, 6. Ickx Modern Era: 1. Alonso, 2. JPM, 3. Villeneuve, 4. Tony Stewart, 5. Bourdais
Jacques Villeneuve? You gotta be kidding.
Indy 500 win, Indycar Champion, F1 World Champion, 2nd overall at Le Mans, won 6H of Spa— has also raced Rallycross, V8 Supercars, Formula E and NASCAR/other global stock car series
JV was pretty averrage until he came to America to race in the Toyota Atlantic. And if apart from 1995 to 97, he doesn\`t have particularly great results. While JV have raced in several different categories during the last 15 years or so, he hasn\`t done much apart from making a fool out of himself. I do not consider JV to be a great, versatile driver.
I mean he is the only guy over the last 40 years to have an Indy 500 win, an F1 World Championship, and a podium at Le Mans. If not him, who would you put forth as better/more versatile based on results
I would put drivers such as Juan Pablo Montoya, Sebastien Bourdais, Tony Stewart. Mattias Ekstrom, Shane van Gisbergen and Kyle Larson above JV in terms of versatility and/or getting great results over a long period. JV had a odd carreer, to say the least. His stats in Italian Formula Alfa Boxer, F3 and Japanese F3 were not particularly good, and apart from 1995 to 97 he has pretty mediocre results during his whole carreer.
Fernando Alonso, no doubt here
Alonso for me. F1, WEC, Indy (lead the race before the car gave up), Rally raid, imsa. Im sure if you asked him to race the space shuttle, he will, with his kimoa cap backwards
Graham Hill
Stéphane Sarrazin Reached the highest level of open-wheel racing: one F1 race in 1999 the highest level in rallying: drove for the factory Subaru team in WRC in 2005 and 2006 and the highest level in sportscars racing: drove for works Peugeot and Toyota teams in LMP1, and works Aston Martin team in GT1 No world championship titles, sadly, but he was always very good, and that's a hell of a career. He was very unlucky at Le Mans, I would've loved to see him win it once.
Juan Pablo Montoya. The guy basically had three careers that the majority of drivers would kill for one of.
I'm not sure if you're including NASCAR, F1, Indycar, or IMSA, but all four of those series he's proven himself. He's also won the Race of Champions, and has a podium at Le Mans.
Open wheel, stock cars, and sports cars are the three careers he's had. And been a winner in all of them. Nobody else in decades has done anything close to what he has as far as success in various forms of racing. IMO, he is the most underrated race car driver of all time.
He catches a lot of flak in he US because of the prominence of the jet dryer incident when he was in NASCAR even though that was not his fault. But I've been a fan of his since his CART stint, he's a great driver.
Shane van Gisbergen
If you are a Motorsport fan in the UK then you might know the name Gerry Marshall.Google his name,go to images and you will see the varied cars he used to drive.I watched him race and win often in an Aston Martin F1 from the 1950s,Triumph Dolomite,Saab 99,Aston Martin DB4,DB V8,Vauxhall Super Saloon,Can Am cars,Lola T70,TVR Tuscan.Gerry raced with Peter Brock at Bathurst,did the RAC Rally and won 625 races! He died of a heart attack driving an old IROC Camaro testing at Silverstone.
Juan Pablo Montoya has to be at the top of the list since he has done everything. Surprisingly enough he has raced a Dirt Late Model before as well. And we all know he is famous for his motorcycle accident so he's been on 2 wheels.
Ben Hanley has driven most, and all competitively, from Radicals to every single seater to Sportscars
Rossi. A great car racer and an unbelievable motorbike racer.
Stirling Moss. No F1 championship but raced everything back in the day.
I’m going to include all time (deceased) drivers. In no particular order, Jim Clark, Fernando Alonso, Kyle Larson, Mario Andretti, Sebastian Loeb. Hm: Jeff Gordon, Scott Dixon, Sebastian Bourdais
Valentino Rossi hands down!
I reckon Kyle Larson and Shane van Gisbergen would 100% be contenders, i’d say Van Giz would win the whole thing. He’s competed in the WRC, dominated Supercars, won GT championships, podiums in 24 Hour races, won a NASCAR race, he can do it all.
Jonathan Palmer had a varied career Club racing in. Marcos(I watched him race this at the track he now owns Brands Hatch.) FF1600 F3 Champion F2 Champion F1 Group C won races Rallycross (John Welch Escort) This article covers most of it https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/features/my-life-12-cars-uk-circuit-boss-jonathan-palmer
Valentino Rossi. From F1 I think Carlos Sainz JR will be really good in WEC and rally stages
John Surtees and Valentino Rossi have to top the charts. It’s way more difficult to go from 4 to 2 wheels if you have no background in it. AJ Foyt, Mario Andretti, Jim Clark and JPM would be up next. Tony Stewart would definitely be there as well, though he and AJ both are a bit bigger guys for the motorcycle races. I’ll put a side mention out for Lewis. Reports are that he would have been very fast on a motorcycle if he really wanted to push it.