John Surtees has a lot of fans. That much is clear from how many questions and good wishes were submitted when we announced we were recording a podcast with him.

He’s also amazingly sprightly and his memory is far better than mine. At the end of the podcast below I fired a completely random question to him about racing around the streets of Madrid in the late 1950s and within a matter of seconds he was into a story about the crowds and Francisco Franco sitting in a dangerous place. Astonishing.

We talk through the 2016 Motor Sport Hall of Fame shortlist (below) and John gives his view on who he’d like to see victorious in each category. What’s more, we take as many questions as possible.

The shortlist, as voted for by you, is: Formula 1 – Mike Costin and Keith Duckworth, Gilles Villeneuve, Professor Sid Watkins, Sports cars – Derek Bell, Brian Redman, Pedro Rodríguez, Motorcycling – Joey Dunlop, Mike Hailwood, Valentino Rossi, Rallying – Richard Burns, Sébastien Loeb, Hannu Mikkola, US racing – Dan Gurney, AJ Foyt, Roger Penske.

Here’s what Il Grande John had to say…

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