Recent from talks
John Duff
Knowledge base stats:
Talk channels stats:
Members stats:
John Duff
John Francis Duff (January 17, 1895 – January 8, 1958) was a Canadian racing driver. He is best known for winning the 1924 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Duff was born in Jiujiang, China, to Canadian parents from Hamilton, Ontario, who had established a commercial outpost in nearby Guling. Duff was sent beck to Hamilton for schooling, living there until he was 16. He returned to China after his schooling.
Upon the outbreak of the First World War in 1914, Duff traveled across Russia to England, where he joined the army. Gravely wounded at the Third Battle of Ypres, Duff was sent to a hospital in England where he met and married his nurse. In 1919, John Duff learned how to drive a car and became a dealer. In 1920, he started racing.
In 1920, Duff began his racing career at Brooklands, a 2.6 mile long concrete track with concave banking. He drove a Fiat S.61, a 10-litre chain-driven car built in 1908. By August 1920, he was lapping in the same range as Henry Segrave, one of the great Brooklands and Grand Prix drivers of the 1920s.
Driving the S.61, Duff won the 75 Long Handicap at Brooklands in May 1921 at a speed of 104.19 mph. He won the 100 Long Handicap at Brooklands’ mid-summer meeting, averaging 104.85 mph. Duff was the fastest on the track for both wins. He also lost a number of races where he was the fastest. As Duff's driving skills improved, his reputation began to put him at a disadvantage with the handicappers.
In the off-season, Duff bought another old Fiat, the 18-litre pre-war racer called "Mephistopheles". In June, he took both Fiats to the Fanoe beach speed trials in Denmark. Duff set the fastest time of the meeting with a run at 165.9 km/h. He also took a class win with the S.61 at a speed of 149.2 km/h, the third fastest speed of the meeting.
In 1922, Duff sold the S.61 and focused on making Mephistopheles faster and more reliable. Harry Ricardo made a set of aluminum pistons and raised the engine’s compression ratio. In May, Duff finished third in Brooklands’ 100 Mile Handicap. In its next race, one of the Fiat's engine blocks detached from the crankcase. When the engine blew, the hood was torn off the car, just missing Duff's head. Engine parts rained down on the track. Duff sold the car for scrap.
1922 saw the birth of Duff and Aldington, a dealership set up to sell the new Bentley car. Duff raced a Bentley at Brooklands. On August 28, he took a stock 3-litre model to the track where he made an attempt on the "Double Twelve" record (24 Hour runs were not allowed at Brooklands due to the noise). The car broke before he could achieve that goal but, in the process, Duff set new Class E world records for 1, 2, and 3 hours, 100 and 200 miles, and 100, 200, 300, and 400 km.
Hub AI
John Duff AI simulator
(@John Duff_simulator)
John Duff
John Francis Duff (January 17, 1895 – January 8, 1958) was a Canadian racing driver. He is best known for winning the 1924 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Duff was born in Jiujiang, China, to Canadian parents from Hamilton, Ontario, who had established a commercial outpost in nearby Guling. Duff was sent beck to Hamilton for schooling, living there until he was 16. He returned to China after his schooling.
Upon the outbreak of the First World War in 1914, Duff traveled across Russia to England, where he joined the army. Gravely wounded at the Third Battle of Ypres, Duff was sent to a hospital in England where he met and married his nurse. In 1919, John Duff learned how to drive a car and became a dealer. In 1920, he started racing.
In 1920, Duff began his racing career at Brooklands, a 2.6 mile long concrete track with concave banking. He drove a Fiat S.61, a 10-litre chain-driven car built in 1908. By August 1920, he was lapping in the same range as Henry Segrave, one of the great Brooklands and Grand Prix drivers of the 1920s.
Driving the S.61, Duff won the 75 Long Handicap at Brooklands in May 1921 at a speed of 104.19 mph. He won the 100 Long Handicap at Brooklands’ mid-summer meeting, averaging 104.85 mph. Duff was the fastest on the track for both wins. He also lost a number of races where he was the fastest. As Duff's driving skills improved, his reputation began to put him at a disadvantage with the handicappers.
In the off-season, Duff bought another old Fiat, the 18-litre pre-war racer called "Mephistopheles". In June, he took both Fiats to the Fanoe beach speed trials in Denmark. Duff set the fastest time of the meeting with a run at 165.9 km/h. He also took a class win with the S.61 at a speed of 149.2 km/h, the third fastest speed of the meeting.
In 1922, Duff sold the S.61 and focused on making Mephistopheles faster and more reliable. Harry Ricardo made a set of aluminum pistons and raised the engine’s compression ratio. In May, Duff finished third in Brooklands’ 100 Mile Handicap. In its next race, one of the Fiat's engine blocks detached from the crankcase. When the engine blew, the hood was torn off the car, just missing Duff's head. Engine parts rained down on the track. Duff sold the car for scrap.
1922 saw the birth of Duff and Aldington, a dealership set up to sell the new Bentley car. Duff raced a Bentley at Brooklands. On August 28, he took a stock 3-litre model to the track where he made an attempt on the "Double Twelve" record (24 Hour runs were not allowed at Brooklands due to the noise). The car broke before he could achieve that goal but, in the process, Duff set new Class E world records for 1, 2, and 3 hours, 100 and 200 miles, and 100, 200, 300, and 400 km.
Recent media