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Michelle Ann Duff (born Michael Alan Duff on 13 December 1939) is a former Grand Prix motorcycle road racer.

Riding

Duff's best season was in 1965, winning the 250cc Finnish Grand Prix and finishing the year in second place to Phil Read.[1][2]

Duff suffered a near-fatal crash in Japan and required extensive surgery and physical therapy.[3] The recovery was documented in the 1967 National Film Board of Canada short documentary film Ride for Your Life, directed by Robin Spry.[4]

Private life

Duff married a Finnish woman in 1963 and had a son with her the same year, and a daughter two years later. In 1984, she changed her name to Michelle and commenced transition, separating from her wife.[5] Following sex reassignment surgery, she wrote about her experiences as a professional motorcycle racer (note that this book is not about her life as a trans woman) in Make Haste, Slowly: The Mike Duff story.[6][7]

World Championship results

Position 1 2 3 4 5 6
Points 8 6 4 3 2 1

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap. An empty black cell indicates that the class did not compete at that particular championship round.)

Year Class Motorcycle 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Rank Points
1960 FRA IOM NED BEL GER ULS NAT
500 cc Norton Ret — 0
1961 ESP GER FRA IOM NED BEL DDR ULS NAT SWE ARG
350 cc AJS 15 6 6 17th 2
500 cc Matchless 14 4 5 11th 5
1962 ESP FRA IOM NED BEL GER ULS DDR NAT FIN ARG
350 cc AJS 5 6 5 9th 5
500 cc Matchless Ret — 0
1963 ESP GER FRA IOM NED BEL ULS DDR FIN NAT ARG JPN
125 cc Bultaco 6 Ret 16th 3
MZ 5
350 cc AJS 6 4 6 10th 5
500 cc Matchless 4 6 4 3 6th 11
1964 USA ESP FRA IOM NED BEL GER DDR ULS FIN NAT JPN
250 cc Cotton Ret 4th 20
Yamaha 5 1 3 2
350 cc AJS 3 5 3 3 2 5 5 3rd 20 (24)
500 cc Norton 4 4th 18
Matchless Ret 2 2 4
1965 USA GER ESP FRA IOM NED BEL DDR CSK ULS FIN NAT JPN
125 cc Yamaha 3 1 6th 12
250 cc Yamaha 2 2 3 2 3 3 2 2 1 2nd 42 (50)
350 cc AJS Ret — 0
500 cc Matchless 3 11th 4
1966 ESP GER FRA NED BEL DDR CSK FIN ULS IOM NAT JPN
125 cc Yamaha 6 4 10th 4
250 cc Yamaha 5 3 4 Ret 9th 9
500 cc Matchless Ret — 0
1967 ESP GER FRA IOM NED BEL DDR CSK FIN ULS NAT CAN JPN
350 cc Aermacchi Ret — 0
500 cc Matchless Ret 3 11th 4

References

  1. ^ Mike Duff career statistics at MotoGP.com
  2. ^ Mojo (15 February 2017). "Michelle Duff Canadian Motorcycle Hall of Fame Legend". Motorcycle Mojo. Retrieved 8 February 2024.
  3. ^ Fowler, Rich (19 June 2010). "Ride for your life - A Documentary about Grand Prix racer Mike Duff". Motorsport Retro. Retrieved 8 February 2024.
  4. ^ Spry, Robin. "Ride for Your Life". Documentary film. National Film Board of Canada. Retrieved 2 June 2010.
  5. ^ "The curious case of Michelle Duff". Half of My Life - Phil Hall's Motorcycling. Retrieved 8 February 2024.
  6. ^ "Michelle Ann Duff (1939 - ) Motorcycle racer". 19 April 2008.
  7. ^ Duff, Michelle Ann (1999). Make Haste, Slowly: The Mike Duff story. Toronto: [mad8 Publishing] [www.michelle-duff.ca]. p. 366.
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