Geoff Duke, motorcyclist - obituary
Motorcycle racer who dominated the sport in the early 1950s and became the first to don a leather one-piece
Geoff Duke in 1952 Photo: Getty Images
6:10PM BST 05 May 2015
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Geoff Duke, who has died aged 92, spent a glorious 10 years at the highest level of motorcycle racing, winning six World Championships and six Isle of Man TT races during the 1950s; he was also the first rider to compete in a streamlined leather one-piece rather than jacket and trousers.
Duke was an early global superstar of motorcycle racing, known above all for the smoothness of his riding. The great Irish motorcyclist Stanley Woods compared his style to “water flowing from a tap”.
The son of a baker, Geoffrey Ernest Duke was born at St Helens in Lancashire on March 29 1923. Even as a youngster he was attracted to motorcycles and in his autobiography he fondly recalled, as a boy of 10, smelling “the now-rare aroma of Castrol R” coming through his window from two bikes parked outside.
His parents had been vehemently opposed to his owning a motorcycle ever since his older brother Eric had been knocked off his bike (a 248cc New Imperial) and severely injured by a Humber coming out of a turning. They eventually relented, however, and Geoff’s first bike was a 1923 belt-drive Raleigh which he bought with two friends for 10 shillings.
In 1939 he secured a job with the Post Office as a telephone engineer, for which he needed his own transport, so his parents let him a buy a second-hand DOT 175cc. He volunteered for military service in 1942 and was posted as an instructor of riders for the Royal Corps of Signals. After the war he worked first for BSA and then for Norton where he was a member of the trials team.
He made his racing debut in 1948 in the Junior Isle of Man Grand Prix on a 350cc Norton borrowed from the works. His engine failed with a split oil tank but his performance – he led the race at the end of lap three – impressed observers and he was marked as a star of the future.
His first road-racing victory was when he beat Les Graham in the 350cc final at Haddenham in 1949. He won the senior Manx Grand Prix later that year as well as the Senior Clubman’s TT.
Around this time Duke had the idea for a lightweight, close-fitting suit with minimal pockets and padding. He approached Frank Barker, a tailor in St Helens, to design the aerodynamic leather outfit, and Barker measured his client crouching over a chair as if riding a motorcycle. The finished suit weighed less than 5lb and was ready for the 1950 Senior TT.
Duke won that race against tough opposition – wearing his one-piece leathers for the first time – on a Norton 500cc, equipped with the new, softly sprung “featherbed” chassis designed by Rex McCandless. Duke was world champion three times for Norton, winning two 350cc titles in 1951 and 1952 and the 500cc title in 1951.
Geoff Duke riding a Gilera on Bray Hill at the Isle of Man TT races, June 11 1955 (GETTY)
He was also extremely skilled behind the wheel of a fast car and, on the suggestion of Lord Brabazon, switched to four wheels and sports car racing for a time. Brabazon arranged a test with Aston Martin and John Wyer, the firm’s racing manager, considered that Duke had “great potential”. Duke drove a DB3 to take third place in the Goodwood Easter Monday Race in 1952. The year after that he took a works Aston Martin to the 12 Hours of Sebring endurance race in Florida, teamed with Peter Collins, but they crashed and failed to finish.
In the summer of 1953 he went fully back to motorcycles, moving to the faster four-cylinder racers of the Italian manufacturer Gilera . It was a golden period. He became the first rider to win the 500cc world championship three years in a row , from 1953 to 1955 .
He carried on racing motorcycles in the later 1950s, though without such spectacular success. Injuries and technical problems intervened. For his last two seasons he went back to racing Nortons as well as motorcycles made by BMW, NSU and Benelli.
Over the years he was active he won 33 world championship races.
Duke in his one-piece suit, originally designed in St Helens (Howard Byrne/Getty Images)
In 1961 Duke was offered a drive in a Formula 1 Cooper car at the Karlskoga track in Sweden. He suffered a locked gearbox, precipitating a crash that proved to be, as he later described it, “the most physically shattering experience of my life”. His injuries included damaged ribs, a collapsed lung, trauma to the heart muscle, a broken collar bone and a cracked pelvis. It was the end of his racing career, although in 1963 he ran a motorcycle racing team known as Scuderia Gilera.
In later years he lived on the Isle of Man, where he was a revered figure, and went into a variety of businesses including hotels and shipping; in 1978 he was involved in setting up the first roll-on roll-off ferry service from Douglas to the mainland.
He published an autobiography, In Pursuit of Perfection, in 1988.
Geoff Duke was voted Sportsman of the Year in 1951 and appointed OBE in 1953.
He married Patricia Reid in 1951; she died in 1975. He married, secondly, Dorothy Eagles; the marriage was dissolved. In 1978 he married, thirdly, Daisy; she survives him with two sons from his first marriage.
Geoff Duke, born March 29 1923, died May 1 2015
MotoGP » Geoff Duke
Career
500cc/MotoGP world championships: 4 – 1951, 1953, 1954 and 1955.
500cc/MotoGP race wins: 22
Arguably the first two-wheeled superstar, Geoff Duke reached the newly founded 500cc World Championship in only its second season of existence (1950), arriving with Norton – and winning first time out at the season-opening Isle of Man TT.
Duke may well have gone on to win the world title that year, but two non-scores due to mechanical problems at the next two rounds cost him dearly and - despite ending the six race season with two wins - in a situation where the best four results counted, Geoff lost the title by just 1 point to Gilera’s Umberto Masetti.
Duke was also runner-up in the 350cc World Championship that year, but the following season would see the Briton’s obvious potential recognised as he wrapped up both the 500cc and 350cc championship, with 4 and 5 wins respectively.
However, hopes of back-to-back 500cc world titles were ended by injuries sustained in a non-championship race midway through 1952, but he still had enough of a lead to defend his 350cc crown successfully.
The 1953 season saw Duke make what was then a controversial switch from the British made Norton to ride the technically superior Gilera against which he’d battled in previous seasons. It would prove a clever decision and he prompt won his second 500cc world title by 14-points.
The next season saw Duke and Gilera dominate the premier-class further - the Englishman doubling the points score of nest nearest rival Ray Amm - but 1955 would offer a stiff challenge from fellow Gilera rider Ray Armstrong.
Duke won by 6-points for what would be hid fourth and final 500cc title, but was banned from the opening two GPs of 1956 for supporting a riders’ strike over better pay for privateers. In his absence, John Surtees and MV Agusta took victory, and then claimed a further triumph when Duke retired from the lead of his comeback race.
Geoff’s bad luck continued and, although Surtees would subsequently break his arm, Duke couldn’t catch his countryman and finished the year with only eight points after winning the season ending Italian GP.
As was the case the previous year, Duke’s 1957 season would be effectively over before it began - this time through injury in non-championship race - which forced him to sit out four of the six rounds. He would salvage a third and a second in the final two races to the season fourth in the points.
The withdraw of Gilera saw Duke make an ill-fated switch to BMW for the 1958 500cc World Championship and back to Norton for the 350cc series, but neither machine was a match for the now dominating MV Agustas and Duke finished third, top non-MV, in both championships after dropping his BMW for a Norton midway through the premier-class season.
After only reasonable results during 1959, in which he finished fourth and fifth on Nortons in the 500 and 350cc championships respectively - and with MV Augusta still totally dominating both classes - Duke decided he had little left to prove and called time on his glorious ten-year GP career at the end of season.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geoff_Duke
Motorcycle racer who dominated the sport in the early 1950s and became the first to don a leather one-piece
Geoff Duke in 1952 Photo: Getty Images
6:10PM BST 05 May 2015
Geoff Duke, who has died aged 92, spent a glorious 10 years at the highest level of motorcycle racing, winning six World Championships and six Isle of Man TT races during the 1950s; he was also the first rider to compete in a streamlined leather one-piece rather than jacket and trousers.
Duke was an early global superstar of motorcycle racing, known above all for the smoothness of his riding. The great Irish motorcyclist Stanley Woods compared his style to “water flowing from a tap”.
The son of a baker, Geoffrey Ernest Duke was born at St Helens in Lancashire on March 29 1923. Even as a youngster he was attracted to motorcycles and in his autobiography he fondly recalled, as a boy of 10, smelling “the now-rare aroma of Castrol R” coming through his window from two bikes parked outside.
His parents had been vehemently opposed to his owning a motorcycle ever since his older brother Eric had been knocked off his bike (a 248cc New Imperial) and severely injured by a Humber coming out of a turning. They eventually relented, however, and Geoff’s first bike was a 1923 belt-drive Raleigh which he bought with two friends for 10 shillings.
In 1939 he secured a job with the Post Office as a telephone engineer, for which he needed his own transport, so his parents let him a buy a second-hand DOT 175cc. He volunteered for military service in 1942 and was posted as an instructor of riders for the Royal Corps of Signals. After the war he worked first for BSA and then for Norton where he was a member of the trials team.
He made his racing debut in 1948 in the Junior Isle of Man Grand Prix on a 350cc Norton borrowed from the works. His engine failed with a split oil tank but his performance – he led the race at the end of lap three – impressed observers and he was marked as a star of the future.
His first road-racing victory was when he beat Les Graham in the 350cc final at Haddenham in 1949. He won the senior Manx Grand Prix later that year as well as the Senior Clubman’s TT.
Around this time Duke had the idea for a lightweight, close-fitting suit with minimal pockets and padding. He approached Frank Barker, a tailor in St Helens, to design the aerodynamic leather outfit, and Barker measured his client crouching over a chair as if riding a motorcycle. The finished suit weighed less than 5lb and was ready for the 1950 Senior TT.
Duke won that race against tough opposition – wearing his one-piece leathers for the first time – on a Norton 500cc, equipped with the new, softly sprung “featherbed” chassis designed by Rex McCandless. Duke was world champion three times for Norton, winning two 350cc titles in 1951 and 1952 and the 500cc title in 1951.
He was also extremely skilled behind the wheel of a fast car and, on the suggestion of Lord Brabazon, switched to four wheels and sports car racing for a time. Brabazon arranged a test with Aston Martin and John Wyer, the firm’s racing manager, considered that Duke had “great potential”. Duke drove a DB3 to take third place in the Goodwood Easter Monday Race in 1952. The year after that he took a works Aston Martin to the 12 Hours of Sebring endurance race in Florida, teamed with Peter Collins, but they crashed and failed to finish.
In the summer of 1953 he went fully back to motorcycles, moving to the faster four-cylinder racers of the Italian manufacturer Gilera . It was a golden period. He became the first rider to win the 500cc world championship three years in a row , from 1953 to 1955 .
He carried on racing motorcycles in the later 1950s, though without such spectacular success. Injuries and technical problems intervened. For his last two seasons he went back to racing Nortons as well as motorcycles made by BMW, NSU and Benelli.
Over the years he was active he won 33 world championship races.
In 1961 Duke was offered a drive in a Formula 1 Cooper car at the Karlskoga track in Sweden. He suffered a locked gearbox, precipitating a crash that proved to be, as he later described it, “the most physically shattering experience of my life”. His injuries included damaged ribs, a collapsed lung, trauma to the heart muscle, a broken collar bone and a cracked pelvis. It was the end of his racing career, although in 1963 he ran a motorcycle racing team known as Scuderia Gilera.
In later years he lived on the Isle of Man, where he was a revered figure, and went into a variety of businesses including hotels and shipping; in 1978 he was involved in setting up the first roll-on roll-off ferry service from Douglas to the mainland.
He published an autobiography, In Pursuit of Perfection, in 1988.
Geoff Duke was voted Sportsman of the Year in 1951 and appointed OBE in 1953.
He married Patricia Reid in 1951; she died in 1975. He married, secondly, Dorothy Eagles; the marriage was dissolved. In 1978 he married, thirdly, Daisy; she survives him with two sons from his first marriage.
Geoff Duke, born March 29 1923, died May 1 2015
MotoGP » Geoff Duke
Career
500cc/MotoGP world championships: 4 – 1951, 1953, 1954 and 1955.
500cc/MotoGP race wins: 22
Arguably the first two-wheeled superstar, Geoff Duke reached the newly founded 500cc World Championship in only its second season of existence (1950), arriving with Norton – and winning first time out at the season-opening Isle of Man TT.
Duke may well have gone on to win the world title that year, but two non-scores due to mechanical problems at the next two rounds cost him dearly and - despite ending the six race season with two wins - in a situation where the best four results counted, Geoff lost the title by just 1 point to Gilera’s Umberto Masetti.
Duke was also runner-up in the 350cc World Championship that year, but the following season would see the Briton’s obvious potential recognised as he wrapped up both the 500cc and 350cc championship, with 4 and 5 wins respectively.
However, hopes of back-to-back 500cc world titles were ended by injuries sustained in a non-championship race midway through 1952, but he still had enough of a lead to defend his 350cc crown successfully.
The 1953 season saw Duke make what was then a controversial switch from the British made Norton to ride the technically superior Gilera against which he’d battled in previous seasons. It would prove a clever decision and he prompt won his second 500cc world title by 14-points.
The next season saw Duke and Gilera dominate the premier-class further - the Englishman doubling the points score of nest nearest rival Ray Amm - but 1955 would offer a stiff challenge from fellow Gilera rider Ray Armstrong.
Duke won by 6-points for what would be hid fourth and final 500cc title, but was banned from the opening two GPs of 1956 for supporting a riders’ strike over better pay for privateers. In his absence, John Surtees and MV Agusta took victory, and then claimed a further triumph when Duke retired from the lead of his comeback race.
Geoff’s bad luck continued and, although Surtees would subsequently break his arm, Duke couldn’t catch his countryman and finished the year with only eight points after winning the season ending Italian GP.
As was the case the previous year, Duke’s 1957 season would be effectively over before it began - this time through injury in non-championship race - which forced him to sit out four of the six rounds. He would salvage a third and a second in the final two races to the season fourth in the points.
The withdraw of Gilera saw Duke make an ill-fated switch to BMW for the 1958 500cc World Championship and back to Norton for the 350cc series, but neither machine was a match for the now dominating MV Agustas and Duke finished third, top non-MV, in both championships after dropping his BMW for a Norton midway through the premier-class season.
After only reasonable results during 1959, in which he finished fourth and fifth on Nortons in the 500 and 350cc championships respectively - and with MV Augusta still totally dominating both classes - Duke decided he had little left to prove and called time on his glorious ten-year GP career at the end of season.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geoff_Duke
