Michelle Duff

Michelle Ann Duff (born Michael Alan Duff; 13 December 1939 – 23 July 2025) was a Canadian 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.

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

Personal life and death 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. Following gender-affirming 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.

Duff died in Liverpool, Nova Scotia on 23 July 2025, at the age of 85.

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