John Duff

John Duff (left) with Frank Clement at the 1924 Le Mans 24 hour race

John Francis Duff (born January 17, 1895 in Jiujiang , † January 8, 1958 in Epping Forest ) was a Canadian racing driver .

Career

In 1924, John Duff was the first and so far only Canadian to win the 24 Hours of Le Mans . Along with his compatriot Kay Petre , he is the second racing driver from the North American state to win a race on the Brooklands racetrack . In his career he set more than 50 speed records.

John Duff was born in China in 1895 to a Canadian entrepreneurial couple. However, he received his education and schooling in Great Britain. In 1912 he returned to China to get only two years later to Europe in the British Army in World War I to serve. He was badly wounded in the Third Battle of Flanders . Duff disarmed as captain of the infantry and after the war he married the nurse who had looked after him after the wound.

Duff began his racing career in 1920 when he raced a privately owned 10-liter Fiat from 1908 in Brooklands. Over the years he modified the Fiat again and again and was able to achieve some successes with the old racing car. In 1922 he founded Duff & Aldington, a Bentley dealership, and began racing Bentleys. In Brooklands in September 1922, he set some speed and distance records.

In 1923 he took part in the first Le Mans 24-hour race. Walter Bentley did not want to send a works car into the race, but supported Duff with personnel and material. The 3-liter sport, privately reported by Duff, was prepared in the Bentley factory and the Bentley test driver Frank Clement was made available to the Canadian as a partner. In the end, the duo reached fourth place overall. A year later, Duff won Le Mans with Clement and ensured the British brand's first overall victory at the Sarthe. Duff raced for Bentley in Europe until the mid-1920s and set new distance records on the Montlhéry racecourse in September 1925 .

In 1926 Duff moved to the United States and signed a contract with Miller to take part in the Indianapolis 500 mile race . The race had to be stopped after 400 miles due to rain and Duff was classified in ninth place. After a third place in the AAA National Race in Aaltona, Duff had a serious accident at the next race in Salem, which ended his career. After a puncture, the Miller crashed into a wall and Duff suffered severe fractures.

After his racing career ended, Duff lived with his family in California and worked as a stuntman in Hollywood and a fencing instructor at the University of California . After the outbreak of the Great Depression , Duff and his family moved to the city of his birth in China. He made a career in fencing in Great Britain in the late 1930s and became economically prosperous. In the 1950s he became a passionate rider. John Duff died in a riding accident in a forest near London in January 1958 .

statistics

Le Mans results

year	team	vehicle	Teammate	placement	Failure reason
1923	Capt. John Duff	Bentley 3 Liter Sport	Frank Clement	Rank 4
1924	Duff & Adlington	Bentley 3 Liter Sport	Frank Clement	Overall victory
1925	Capt. John Duff	Bentley 3 Liter Sport	Frank Clement	failure	Wagon fire

literature

• RM Clarke: Le Mans - the Bentley & Alfa Years 1923-1939 Brocklands Books 1999, ISBN 1-85520-4657 .

Web links

Commons : John Duff  - Collection of Images, Videos and Audio Files

• John Duff at 24-hour en-piste