Geoff Duke
Geoff Duke OBE | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Nationality | British | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Born | St. Helens, Lancashire, England | 29 March 1923||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Died | 1 May 2015 Isle of Man | (aged 92)||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Geoffrey Ernest Duke
Sporting career
After reaching the status of Team Sergeant in the
After winning three World Championships for Norton, he moved abroad to Italian motorcycle manufacturer,
Duke briefly dabbled in
In 1963, he formed a racing team – Scuderia Duke, with riders Derek Minter and John Hartle – to race the 1957 Gileras against Mike Hailwood riding the MV Agusta.[8]
During 1964, Duke was appointed Competition Manager for Royal Enfield motorcycles, helping to develop their new GP250 clubman's-category volume-production road racer.[14][15][16][17]
For the 1965 International Six Days Trial held on the Isle of Man, Duke was instrumental in helping to devise the 1,000-mile course and sections held on an island measuring approximately 30 miles long by 10 miles wide, particularly using tracks which would be unavailable in mainland UK due to restrictive legislation, a problem which did not arise on self-governing Isle of Man. Additionally, the island had hotels easily able to cater for the visiting teams, followers and spectators with a traditional goodwill and enthusiasm towards motorcycle sport. Duke acted as Clerk of the Course to the ACU, the governing body of motorcycle sport in Great Britain including the Isle of Man, which interacted with the FIM international organisation.[18]
In 1967, Duke acted as entrant for the class-winning Triumph Bonneville ridden by John Hartle in the 750 cc capacity section of the newly introduced for 1967 Production class, which required racing machines to be based on roadsters, complying with controlled specifications using selected adaptations only, available from the manufacturers as part-numbered inventory.[19]
Personal life
Duke was the most famous rider to adopt one-piece leathers - he had enlisted his local tailor, Frank Barker, to make the first of his now famous one-piece race suits. Duke had previously used a one-piece lining under his two-piece leather racing suit, to facilitate easy movement, for which he received "ribald remarks from my team-mates!"[20] He was named Sportsman of the Year in 1951, and was awarded the RAC Segrave Trophy.[21][22]
Duke was appointed
He was one of many signatories in a letter to The Times on 17 July 1958 opposing 'the policy of apartheid' in international sport and defending 'the principle of racial equality which is embodied in the Declaration of the Olympic Games'.[24]
After retiring from racing, Duke became a businessman, initially in the motor trade and later in shipping services to the Isle of Man. In 1978, he was instrumental in setting up the Manx Line that introduced the first roll-on-roll-off ferry service to the island in competition with the 150-year-old Isle of Man Steam Packet Company[25] The FIM named him a Grand Prix "Legend" in 2002.[26]
Highly honoured by the
He died, aged 92, at his home on the Isle of Man on 1 May 2015 after being ill for some time.
World Championship results
Position | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
Points | 8 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap. An empty black cell indicates that the class did not compete at that particular championship round.)
Year | Class | Motorcycle | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Rank | Points |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1950 | IOM | BEL | NED | SUI | ULS | NAT | |||||||
350 cc | Norton | 2 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 2nd | 24 (28) | |||||
500 cc | Norton | 1 | Ret | Ret | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2nd | 27 | ||||
1951 | ESP | SUI | IOM | BEL | NED | FRA | ULS | NAT | |||||
350 cc | Norton | Ret | 1 | 1 | Ret | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1st
|
32 (40) | |||
500 cc | Norton | Ret | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 1st
|
35 (37) | |||
1952 | SUI | IOM | NED | BEL | GER | ULS | NAT | ESP | |||||
350 cc | Norton | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1st
|
32 | ||||||
500 cc | Norton | Ret | Ret | 2 | 2 | 7th | 12 | ||||||
1953 | IOM | NED | BEL | GER | FRA | ULS | SUI | NAT | ESP | ||||
500 cc | Gilera | Ret | 1 | Ret | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1st
|
38 | |||
1954 | FRA | IOM | ULS | BEL | NED | GER | SUI | NAT | ESP | ||||
500 cc | Gilera | Ret | 2 | C | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1st
|
40 (46) | ||
1955 | ESP | FRA | IOM | GER | BEL | NED | ULS | NAT | |||||
500 cc | Gilera | Ret | 1 | 1 | 1 | Ret | 1 | 3 | 1st
|
36 | |||
1956 | IOM | NED | BEL | GER | ULS | NAT | |||||||
500 cc | Gilera | Ret | Ret | Ret | 1 | 7th | 8 | ||||||
1957 | GER | IOM | NED | BEL | ULS | NAT | |||||||
350 cc | Gilera | Ret | Ret | - | 0 | ||||||||
500 cc | Gilera | 3 | 2 | 4th | 10 | ||||||||
1958 | IOM | NED | BEL | GER | SWE | ULS | NAT | ||||||
350 cc | Norton | Ret | Ret | 5 | Ret | 1 | 4 | 3 | 3rd | 17 | |||
500 cc | BMW | Ret | Ret | 4 | Ret | 3rd | 13 | ||||||
Norton | 1 | 5 | 7 | ||||||||||
1959 | FRA | IOM | GER | NED | BEL | SWE | ULS | NAT | |||||
250 cc | NSU | Ret | 10th | 5 | |||||||||
Benelli | 6 | 3 | 10 | ||||||||||
350 cc | Norton | 4 | 4 | 3 | Ret | 5th | 10 | ||||||
500 cc | Norton | 9 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4th | 12 |
See also
References
Footnotes
- All Grand Prix results are taken from Walker, pp. 248–252
- ^ a b c "Geoff Duke". Motogp.com. 29 March 1923. Archived from the original on 16 March 2015. Retrieved 2 May 2015.
- ISBN 9791030100938. Retrieved 4 January 2018 – via Google Books.
- ^ "Picture special: MCN meets veterans from the White Helmets army display team". MCN. 18 September 2007. Retrieved 6 May 2015.
- ^ Motor Cycle, 5 November 1964, p.797. Help Club accessed 31 January 2015
- ^ "Race Results - Manx Grand Prix Official Website". Manxgrandprix.org. Retrieved 2 May 2015.
- ^ "Race Results - Manx Grand Prix Official Website". Manxgrandprix.org. Retrieved 2 May 2015.
- ^ "Race Results - Isle of Man TT Official Website". Iomtt.com. 29 March 1929. Retrieved 2 May 2015.
- ^ a b c "Geoff Duke | MotoGP". Crash.Net. 29 March 1923. Archived from the original on 30 June 2015. Retrieved 2 May 2015.
- ^ "Geoff Duke Must Finish Six Months' Suspension". The Bulletin. 18 August 1956. p. 8. Retrieved 20 December 2010.
- ^ "Aston Martin And The Last 100 Years - Aston Martin News Details". Hwmastonmartin.co.uk. 15 January 1913. Archived from the original on 23 May 2013. Retrieved 2 May 2015.
- ^ "Geoff Duke - Competitors - Isle of Man TT Official Website". Iomtt.com. 29 March 1929. Retrieved 2 May 2015.
- ^ "Germany 1961 - Race entrants • STATS F1". www.statsf1.com. Retrieved 3 August 2020.
- ^ "VII Kanonloppet • STATS F1". www.statsf1.com. Retrieved 3 August 2020.
- ^ Motor Cycle, 3 September 1964. p.486 Lightweights stir it up during Manx Grand Prix practising. "New from stem to stern, the model is in the care of Geoff Duke who is helping Royal Enfields with the racing design". [image caption]: "Manxman Dennis Craine chats with Royal Enfield's Jack Booker and Geoff Duke.". Accessed 2015-07-02
- ^ Motor Cycle, 19 November 1964. 'Earls Court Show Guide'. p.847 "Geoff Duke demonstrates the riding position of the new Royal Enfield racer..."Accessed 2013-08-18
- ^ Motor Cycle, 9 September 1965. p.371 SLIM and LOW by David Dixon. Track test at Oulton Park of RE GP with Racing Manager Geoff Duke. Accessed 2013-08-18
- ^ Royal Enfield 250GP at Bonhams Retrieved 2013-08-18
- ^ Motor Cycle 28 January 1965 pp.104-107 Manx Recce. Peter Fraser weighs up the venue for this year's ISDT. Accessed 2015-06-12
- ^ Motor Cycle 15 June 1967 pp.808-811 Diamond TT edition, race report. Production machine race. Super speeds on roadsters. [image caption] "John Hartle pilots the big Geoff Duke-entered Triumph through the right-hander at Quarter Bridge". Accessed 25 June 2015
- ISBN 0-85045-838-2
- ^ "The Segrave Trophy". Royalautomobileclub.co.uk. Retrieved 30 January 2016.
- ^ "1950's Motorcycle Racing Star Geoff Duke Passes at 92". ultimatemotorcycling.com. 4 May 2015. Retrieved 30 January 2016.
- ^ UK list: "No. 39732". The London Gazette (Supplement). 30 December 1952. p. 13.
- ISBN 9781912926589
- ^ John Moss. "Ricky hatton, Andrew Freddy Flintoff, Paula Radcliffe, Geoff Duke, Stanley Matthews & David Lloyd - British Sportsmen and Sportswomen from the Northwest region". Manchester2002-uk.com. Retrieved 2 May 2015.
- ^ "· MotoGP Legends". Motogp.com. Archived from the original on 28 October 2011. Retrieved 2015-05-02.
- ^ Isle of Man TT Official site Retrieved 2015-06-12
- ^ Miller, Robin (2 May 2015). "Grand Prix and TT legend Geoff Duke has died". Bikesportnews.com. Retrieved 2 May 2015.
- ^ Isle of Man TT champion Geoff Duke's coffin to take final lap BBC Sport, 10 May 2015, Retrieved 2015-07-07
- ^ TT legend Geoff Duke makes last lap of Mountain Course Archived 8 July 2015 at the Wayback Machine Yorkshire Evening Post, 10 May 2015, Retrieved 2015-07-07
Books
- ISBN 9781859835456. Retrieved 30 January 2016.