Geoff Duke OBE

The first half of the 1950s was gentlemanly Geoff’s golden era, when he won no less than five Motorcycle Grand Prix World Championships: in 1951 with Norton in both 350 and 500cc classes; in 1952 with Norton for the 350cc title; and in 1953, ’54 and ’55 on 500cc Gileras. In doing so, he set 29 fastest laps. Indeed, throughout the 1950s he contested 60 GPs and won 33 of them, along with 17 more podium positions. He was awarded 1951 British Sportsman Of the Year, which made him a household name in a sport that previously only a dedicated few knew about. Born in 1923, he was also an innovator at a time when bikes, brakes and tyres were pretty primitive, inventing one-piece racing leathers, and he also campaigned for better pay for riders. After retiring in 1959, he began a successful motor sport marketing business on the Isle Of Man, where he died aged 92.