Geoff Duke

An outstanding champion. Geoff Duke's smooth. impeccable style brought him four world titles when with Norion and three more after switching to the Italian Gilera. He is generally accepted as the first of the modern-style racers and is given credit for the introduction of one- piece leathers. His interest in motor cycles developed from his first machine (of which he shared ownership with a friend), bought when he was only thir- teen. At sixteen he owned an ancient 175ce Dot. Two years later he went into the army and eventually became a des- patch rider, being chosen later for the army's team. After demobilisation in 1947 he bought a 350ce BSA and went to work for the firm as a tuner for their trials machines. His competition career began as a member of the BSA trials team and after his obvious skills had been noticed by the Irish rider Artie Bell, Duke switched to a job at Norton. His road racing debut, at the comparatively late age of 26, in 1948, was on a 350cc Norton in the Manx Grand Prix. He was out in front before a Tlit 6il tank forced his retirement. 

His ambitions were now solidly directed towards road racing and 1949 was a significant year. He won the Senior Clubman’s race on the Isle Of Man at a record 82.97 mph. won the Senior Manx GP and finished second in the Junior event. Norton were convinced of his po- tential and he joined the works team. winning almost all the races he entered that year. In his first TT, in 1950, he won the Senior at a record speed of 92.27 mph, with a record tap of 93.33 mph. and was second in the Junior. In 1951 he did even better, capturing both the Senior and Junior 77s, establishing the fastest lap in each class. and won almost every classic event, taking the world title in. both the 500ce and 350ce classes. He was the first rider to hold both titles in one year and for his contribution to motor cycle racing, received the OBE, the second rider to be so honoured (the first was Freddic Frith in 1950). In 1952 Duke again took the 350ce World Cham- pionship and also the Junior TT. During this period Duke was finding his single cylinder Nortons increasingly outpaced   by the extremely fast multis from Italy like the Gilera. Reluctant to change to  foreign machinery. and as an outlet for his frustrations, he switched to car racing in 1953 and drove an Aston Martin DB 2, though with little success. He was tempted back to bike racing with an offer of a works contract from Gilera.  thus beginning the second part of this outstanding racer’s career.  He captured the 500ce World Charn- pionship for Gilera in 1953, repeating his  success in 1954 and again in 1955. He was second in the Senior TT of 1954 and  won the event in 1955. Although there was still much racing left in Duke. circumstances dictated  that we had seen the best of his talents. There was disappointment for his fans in 1956 when. following his support for riders in a dispute over starting money at the Dutch TT, he found himself suspended by the FIM and therefore missed a number of  classic rounds. A formidable threat to Duke’s superiority was also looming large in the form of John Surtees. much more potent opposition since switching to MV. The two giants clashed only once in 1956. Surtees finishing best after Duke broke down. In the Ulster that year Duke crashed in the wet and was not able to score his first championship points until the final round, the Italian Grand Prix at Monza, which he won. The following year (1957) a crash at Imola kept him out of four of the six Classic events. Then came the shock withdrawal from racing of Gilera, Guzzi and Mondial, the dominant forces in world championship racing. Perforce. the greatest racing days of Geoffrey Duke were over. for while the sport struggled painfully to recover from the Italian withdrawal, the number of available  works  contracts had diminished. but Duke continued to ride. He rode a BMW in 1958: then switched back to a Norton for 1959. In 1960 he tried car racing again, but following a crash in Sweden in September 1961, he announced his retirement from racing.

Geoff Duke's brilliant riding brought him a total of six motor cycle World Championships. five TTs and numerous International Grands Prix. He was supremely stylish and rode with con- sumate case. His smooth, unobtrusive style belied his absolute mastery and it .,x.as his extreme skill, plus the road- holding of the 'featherbed' Norton, which enabled him to win two of his 500ec World titles against the powerful multicylinder Gileras. He also had an intuitive 'feel' for machines and Duke's suggestions and advice to both Norton and Gilera, made important contribu- tions to;.the business of machine modifications and adaptations.

Geoffrey Duke came back into the news in 1963 with his enterprising at- ternpt to break the monopoly of MV in the 500ec World Championship. With virtually no opposition, MV had collect- ed the-title almost unchallenged for five years. In an eitort to break the run and to inject more interest in the cham- pionships, Duke formed Scuderia Duke, persuaded Gilera to loan him the out- standingly successful 1957 Gileras, and with Derek Minter and John Hartle (and later Phil Read) signed as riders, he attempted to take the world crown from MV. But he was unsuccessful. He was also in the news in 1966 when his name was linked with plans for the building of a Velocette-BRM World Championship machine financed by funds from the Manx lottery but, unfortunately, it did not materialise.

World  Championship wins:  
1951:  350ce (Norton) and 500ce (Norton)
1952:  35Occ (Norton) 
1953:  50Occ (Gilera)
1954:  50Occ (Gilera)

TT wins:  
1950: Senior (Norton)  
1951: Senior (Norton) and Junior (Nor- ton)  
1952: Junior (Norton) 1955: Senior (Gilera)

(Text and Pictures graciousely offered by Robert Wiles)

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