Make Haste, Slowly

The Mike Duff Story By Michelle Ann Duff

""I have stood alone atop a winner's rostrum in silence to my country's national anthem then raised my arms to the tumultuous cheers of thousands all proclaiming an accomplishment that was singularly mine"

In everyone of us there lies a dream. To accomplish that dream is the inner desire of us all. To discover the tranquility and sense of satisfaction from the reality of that dream is a life long reward granted those who attain excellence in professional sport. It is far deeper and more profound than the mere pleasure of racing and winning.

I have never won a world championship, nor an Isle of Man TT. But I have ridden some of the most exotic racing machines ever built on race courses throughout the Grand Prix Continental Circus. I have ridden and conquered the intricacies of the Isle of Man TT and forever instilled its magic in my veins. I have accelerated along glamorous racing circuits that are but names in a book to most, and I have mixed it with the best of the world's motorcycle racers and often emerged victorious. During the 1960s, when the Japanese manufacturers began their dominance of GP racing, I had the best seat in the house to watch the titanic battles for first place between Mike Hailwood, Jim Redman and Phil Read. Share these experiences with me in minute detail from the perspective of my seat aboard a "works" Yamaha RD56 or RA97, a Matchless G50 or AJS 7R, or the legendary AJS Porcupine.