Geoff Duke

Published: Tuesday, 2 June 2009, 7:10PM

In a road racing career that started relatively late due to the war, Geoff Duke made an instant impact on the sport not only with his results but also with his impeccable style.

Hailing from St Helens in Merseyside, Duke was the first man to wear a one piece set of racing leathers but he came to the attention of many when he won the Clubmans TT and Senior Manx Grand Prix in 1949.

Just a few months later he returned to the TT itself as a factory Norton rider and, after taking the runner up spot in the Junior, he duly won the Senior TT thus having the unique record of taking three major races in the space of 12 months.

A super stylist, Duke set Junior and Senior lap and race records on his way to a double win in 1951 before adding a fourth victory to his name in 1952 when he took the Junior. He was denied another double though when he was forced to retire from the Senior on the fourth lap whilst holding a commanding lead.

After winning three world titles for Norton, as well as being awarded the OBE, Duke was astute enough to realise that the four cylinder machines were on the ascendancy and he made the bold switch to the mighty Italian Gilera team in 1953.

However, although he would take three successive 500cc World Championships for Gilera, he was out of luck at the TT initially, crashing out uninjured of the 1953 Senior race.

In 1954 he was again denied when the race was stopped early due to inclement weather. There was to be no doubt in the 1955 Senior though and he dominated the race with a new outright lap record of 99.97mph, which was initially announced as being the first ever 100mph lap before being corrected.

After six wins in six years, this proved to be his last success on the Mountain Course and although he continued racing at the TT until his retirement in 1959, he was unable to challenge for the race victories. Such was his affinity with the Isle of Man, Duke set up home on the Island where he has lived ever since.