Geoffrey Ernest Duke (29 March 1923 – 1 May 2015) was a British multiple

motorcycle A motorcycle (motorbike, bike, or trike (if three-wheeled)) is a two or three-wheeled motor vehicle steered by a handlebar. Motorcycle design varies greatly to suit a range of different purposes: long-distance travel, commuting, cruising ...

Grand Prix road racing world champion. Born in St. Helens,

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancash ...

, after retirement from competition he was a businessman based in the Isle of Man. He raced several brands of motorcycle:

Norton Norton may refer to: Places Norton, meaning 'north settlement' in Old English, is a common place name. Places named Norton include: Canada * Rural Municipality of Norton No. 69, Saskatchewan *Norton Parish, New Brunswick **Norton, New Brunswick, a ...

Gilera Gilera is an Italian motorcycle manufacturer founded in Arcore in 1909 by Giuseppe Gilera (1887–1971). In 1969, the company was purchased by Piaggio. History In 1935, Gilera acquired rights to the Rondine four-cylinder engine. It was, at th ...

, BMW, NSU and Benelli.

Sporting career

After reaching the status of Team Sergeant in the

Royal Signals Motorcycle Display Team The Royal Signals Motorcycle Display Team (RSMDT), also known as the White Helmets, was a group of serving soldiers from the Royal Corps of Signals of the British Army, who gave public displays of motorcycling skills, acrobatics and stunt riding. ...

, The White Helmets, Duke was a prominent figure in racing in the 1950s, winning six world championships and six

Isle of Man TT The Isle of Man TT or Tourist Trophy races are an annual motorcycle racing event run on the Isle of Man in May/June of most years since its inaugural race in 1907. The event is often called one of the most dangerous racing events in the world ...

races. First entering the Isle of Man Manx Grand Prix in 1948, he retired after four laps of the Junior race. He came to prominence after the 1949 events, finishing second in the Junior race, after remounting due to a spill, and winning the Senior race with a record lap and race-average speeds. ''Motor Cycle'', 5 November 1964, p.797. ''Help Club'' accessed 31 January 2015 He also won the 1949 Senior Clubmans TT. He signed to the

works team for the 1950 TT, finishing second in the

Junior TT The Junior TT is a motorcycle road race that takes place during the Isle of Man TT festival; an annual event at the end of May and beginning of June. Between 1949 and 1976 this race was part of the Grand Prix motorcycle racing season. Engine c ...

and breaking both lap and race records in the

Senior TT The Senior Tourist Trophy is a motorcycle road race that takes place during the Isle of Man TT festival, an annual event traditionally held over the last week in May and the first week in June. The Senior TT is the Blue Riband event of the festi ...

. After winning three World Championships for Norton, he moved abroad to Italian motorcycle manufacturer,

1953 Events January * January 6 – The Asian Socialist Conference opens in Rangoon, Burma. * January 12 – Estonian émigrés found a government-in-exile in Oslo. * January 14 ** Marshal Josip Broz Tito is chosen President of Yug ...

. With Gilera, he had a string of three consecutive 500 cc world championships. His support for a riders' strike demanding more start money led the FIM to suspend him for six months, dashing any hopes for a fourth consecutive title. For 1953 he joined the

sports car A sports car is a car designed with an emphasis on dynamic performance, such as handling, acceleration, top speed, the thrill of driving and racing capability. Sports cars originated in Europe in the early 1900s and are currently produced by ...

racing team of Aston Martin (Feltham, Middlesex) to race the DB3. Teamed with Peter Collins, the pair led the 12 Hours of Sebring until Duke's accident and resulting DNF. In 1955 he was declared the first rider to lap the Isle of Man TT course at 100 mph, though this was later corrected to 99.97. As a consequence the official first 100 mph lap is credited to Bob McIntyre, also on a Gilera, in 1957. Duke was a non-starter because of injury. His final race was the 1959 Nations Grand Prix. Duke briefly dabbled in

Formula One Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...

, entering the

1961 German Grand Prix The 1961 German Grand Prix was the 23rd time the German Grand Prix (or Grosser Preis von Deutschland) motor race was held. The race also held the honorary designation of the 21st European Grand Prix. It was run to Formula One regulations as race 6 ...

in a private Cooper- Climax. Although forced to withdraw from that event as his car was not yet ready, he did race in the non-championship

Kanonloppet Kanonloppet ("the cannon race") is an annual auto racing, motor race, run at the Karlskoga Motorstadion in Gelleråsen in the outskirts of Karlskoga, Sweden. The first races were run in 1950 and 1952, and then from 1954 onwards it was an annual eve ...

Karlskoga Karlskoga () is a locality and the seat of Karlskoga Municipality, Sweden. Located within Örebro County, 45 km (28 mi) west of Örebro, and 10 km (6 mi) north of Degerfors. With a 2020 population of 27,386 distributed over 10.55 square miles (2 ...

two weeks later. In

1963 Events January * January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Co ...

, he formed a racing team – ''Scuderia Duke'', with riders

Derek Minter Derek Minter (27 April 1932 – 2 January 2015) was an English Grand Prix motorcycle and short-circuit road racer. Born in Ickham, Kent, with education starting in nearby Littlebourne, Walker, Mick. ''Derek Minter, King of Brands'', 2008, p.8 ...

and

John Hartle John Hartle (22 December 1933 - 31 August 1968) was an English professional road racer who competed in national, international and Grand Prix motorcycle events. Motorcycling career Born in Chapel-en-le-Frith, Derbyshire, Hartle began racing ...

– to race the 1957 Gileras against

Mike Hailwood Stanley Michael Bailey Hailwood, (2 April 1940 – 23 March 1981) was a British professional motorcycle racer and racing driver. He is regarded by many as one of the greatest racers of all time. He competed in the Grand Prix motorcycl ...

riding the MV Agusta. During 1964, Duke was appointed Competition Manager for Royal Enfield motorcycles, helping to develop their new GP250 clubman's-category production-volume road racer. ''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''".

mage caption Mage most commonly refers to: * Mage (paranormal) or magician, a practitioner of magic derived from supernatural or occult sources * Mage (fantasy) or magician, a type of character in mythology, folklore, and fiction *Mage, a character class in ...

"''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 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. In 1967, Duke acted as entrant for the class-winning

Triumph Bonneville The Triumph Bonneville is a Types of motorcycles#Standard, standard motorcycle featuring a Straight-twin engine, parallel-twin four-stroke engine and manufactured in three generations over three separate production runs. The first two generation ...

ridden by

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.

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!" He was named Sportsman of the Year in 1951, and was awarded the RAC

Segrave Trophy The Segrave Trophy is awarded to the British national who demonstrates "Outstanding Skill, Courage and Initiative on Land, Water and in the Air". The trophy is named in honour of Sir Henry Segrave, the first person to hold both the land and wat ...

. Duke was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 1953 New Year Honours "for services to British Motor-Cycle racing." 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'. Geoff Duke funeral cortege 1 cropped

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 An isle is an island, land surrounded by water. The term is very common in British English. However, there is no clear agreement on what makes an island an isle or its difference, so they are considered synonyms. Isle may refer to: Geography * Is ...

The FIM named him a Grand Prix "Legend" in 2002. Highly honoured by the

Isle of Man ) , anthem = "O Land of Our Birth" , image = Isle of Man by Sentinel-2.jpg , image_map = Europe-Isle_of_Man.svg , mapsize = , map_alt = Location of the Isle of Man in Europe , map_caption = Location of the Isle of Man (green) in Europe ...

, where he made so many of his world record breaking rides, a point on the mountain section of the TT Course was named after him in 2003. Three sharp bends at the 32nd Milestone between Brandywell and Windy Corner now carry the title 'Duke's'. He died, aged 92, at his home on the Isle of Man on 1 May 2015 after being ill for some time. Duke's funeral cortege assembled at

TT Grandstand The TT Grandstand including the startline, pit lane, re-fuellers, merchandising, scoreboard and paddocks for the Isle of Man TT and Manx Grand Prix races is situated on the A2 Glencrutchery Road, in the town of Douglas, Isle of Man. History ...

, Glencrutchery Road, Douglas, Isle of Man on 10 May, prior to a last lap of the Snaefell Mountain Course, followed by a private family funeral service.TT legend Geoff Duke makes last lap of Mountain Course
Yorkshire Evening Post, 10 May 2015, Retrieved 2015-07-07

World Championship results

( 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.)

References

Footnotes

*All Grand Prix results are taken from Walker, pp. 248–252

Books