Marc Surer
 |
|
| Born |
18 September 1951 Arisdorf, Switzerland |
|---|---|
| Formula One World Championship career | |
| Nationality |
 Swiss |
| Active years | 1979–1986 |
| Teams | Ensign, ATS, Theodore, Arrows, Brabham |
| Entries | 88 (82 starts) |
| Championships | 0 |
| Wins | 0 |
| Podiums | 0 |
| Career points | 17 |
| Fastest laps | 1 |
| First entry | 1979 Italian Grand Prix |
| Last entry | 1986 Belgian Grand Prix |
Marc Surer (born 18 September 1951 in Arisdorf) is a former racing driver from Switzerland currently working as TV commentator and racing school instructor. He participated in 88 Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, debuting on 9 September 1979. He scored a total of 17 championship points.
Surer started his career in karting in 1972. Due to the racing ban established in Switzerland after the 1955 Le Mans disaster, he moved to Germany in 1974 where he finished second in the local Formula Vee Championship. In 1976 he switched to European Formula 3, where he was noticed by Jochen Neerpasch who hired him as a member of the BMW Junior Team alongside Eddie Cheever and Manfred Winkelhock. In 1978 he finished second in the Formula 2 Championship, eventually winning the series the following year in a works March-BMW.
Surer's debut in Formula 1 took place at the end of 1979 and was somewhat troubled. He broke his legs in qualifying at the South African Grand Prix in an ATS at Kyalami in 1980, and again racing there in 1981 for Ensign. He recovered to give Ensign their best result with a 4th place at the 1981 Brazilian Grand Prix, also setting the fastest lap of the race. He later drove for Theodore before establish himself at Arrows for a couple of seasons, until BMW's support earned him a seat at Brabham for 1985. Surer returned to Arrows in 1986 but eventually retired from Formula One halfway through the season.
Surer moved on to rallying, but a serious accident at the 1986 ADAC Hessen-Rallye in his Ford RS200 severely injured him and killed his co-driver and friend Michel Wyder. BMW retained him as a driver, coach and later director of motorsport activities. In 1994 and 1995 Surer, alongside Johnny Cecotto and Jo Winkelhock won the German Super Touring Car Championship. In 1996 he began working as a television commentator at all Formula 1 events for Sky Sport (Germany) (formerly known as DF1 and Premiere) next to the lead commentator, Jacques Schulz.
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