Geoff Duke
Epithet: TT Rider and Britain’s first motorcycling superstar (1923-2015)
Record type: Motorsport Biographies
Biography: Geoff Duke was born in St Helens, Lancashire on 29 March 1923. Duke began racing at the TT after war service as an army dispatch rider. Between 1949 and 1959 Duke notched up six TT wins, first with Norton and then Gilera. He also dominated world motorcycling, with six World Championship titles in the 1950s.
Geoff Duke typified the TT rider of the 1950s. Suave and sophisticated in his one piece racing suit he and his contemporaries – men like John Surtees – were a generation away from the ‘greasy’ mechanics of the 1930s.
Duke was named Sportsman of the Year in 1951, and awarded an OBE in 1953. The Duke name continues with Britain’s premier motorsport video distributors, Duke Marketing, based in the Isle of Man. He died aged 92 on 1 May 2015.
Gender: Male
Competed in
| Race | Position | Time | Speed | Machine |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1959 Junior TT | 4 | 2:50:12.40 | 93.1 | Norton |
| 1958 Senior TT | R | BMW | ||
| 1958 Junior TT | R | Norton | ||
| 1955 Senior TT | 1 | 2:41:49.80 | 97.93 | Gilera |
| 1954 Senior TT | 2 | 1:43:52.60 | 87.19 | Gilera |
| 1953 Senior TT | R | Gilera | ||
| 1952 Senior TT | R | Norton | ||
| 1952 Junior TT | 1 | 2:55:30.60 | 90.29 | Norton |
| 1951 Senior TT | 1 | 2:48:56.80 | 93.83 | Norton |
| 1951 Junior TT | 1 | 2:56:17.60 | 89.9 | Norton |
| 1950 Senior TT | 1 | 2:51:45.60 | 92.27 | Norton |
| 1950 Junior TT | 2 | 3:04:52.00 | 85.73 | Norton |
| 1949 Senior MGP | 1 | 2:37:50.00 | 86.063 | Norton |
| 1949 Junior MGP | 2 | 2:47:18.00 | 81.207 | Norton |
| 1949 Clubman Senior TT | 1 | 1:21:53.00 | 82.97 | Norton |
| 1948 Junior MGP | R |
Comments
Linked Records
Library:
- In Pursuit of Perfection
- The Tourist Trophy as Geoff Duke sees it
- The Tourist Trophy as Geoff Duke sees it
- Peter Kneale's 90 years of Tourist Trophy magic
- Racing Through the Century: Memories of Fifty Years of Motor Cycle Sport
- Unforgettable ...Unforgiving; The Eyes Have It. [Isle of Man Tourist Trophy races]
- Tourist Trophy Legends: 1907-1997
- Isle of Man Tourist Trophy
Archives:
- Geoff Duke, TT Rider and Britain’s first motorcycling superstar (1923-2015)
- Geoff Duke pushing Gilera number 76 away from the weigh in with clerks of the course, 1954 TT (Tourist Trophy)
- Geoff Duke, TT Rider and Britain’s first motorcycling superstar (1923-2015)
- Geoff Duke, aboard a 500cc Gilera, number 50, 1955 TT (Tourist Trophy)
- Geoff Duke, TT (Tourist Trophy) rider with his mother