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Geoff Duke: 1923-2015

by

Bertie Simmonds

–

He’s one of the greatest ever to have graced the TT and now Geoff Duke has completed his final lap of the The Mountain course.

A special event took place on the Isle of Man on Sunday ahead of a private family funeral for the 1950s racing superstar who passed away on Friday, May 1 at the age of 92.

Joined by sons Peter and Mike who followed on motorcycles, a hearse carrying Duke’s coffin left the Grandstand for a final tour of the 37.73-mile circuit around which he made his name.

It is also expected that further commemorations will be taking place during the IOM Festival of Motorcycling between August and September.

Classic Racer magazine has been following events on its Facebook page, including photos shared from Sunday’s ceremonial lap. Editor Malc Wheeler has promised a full tribute feature to a man he describes as “a legend” in the next edition released on June 18.

Classic Bikers Club also shared a selection of superb archive images on its own Facebook page.298_1864683496Geoff Duke: 1923-2015

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About the Author

As a child Bertie (well, Robert back then… blame his sister for the nickname) was exposed to motorcycles thanks to his uncles. They would show up at his house with a lovely lady as pillion throughout the 1970s and 1980s. After a naughty time on field bikes (it’s what we did back then) Bertie passed his test in the early 1990s and became a reporter for MCN in 1995, moving to the sports desk and covering World Superbikes in 1996. With a change to Bike Magazine in 1997, he stayed until 2000 as news, features and road test editor. Moving into PR with Cosworth, Bert was bored with cars and returned to bikes in 2001 with Two Wheels Only, becoming editor in 2002 and leaving to be freelance at the end of 2004. With almost a decade freelancing, Bertie joined Mortons in 2013 and became editor of Classic Motorcycle Mechanics, a post he’s desperately clung to, to this day. And no, he’s never had a pretty girl on the back of his bike. [email protected]

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