Seeking Information on Capt. Duff

[Liz]

I have received a request from the Canadian Motorsport Hall of Fame to ask Our Panel of Experts if anyone can help out with information regarding one Capt. John Duff, as detailed below. Any information or suggestions as to where to look would be appreciated.

"Liz,

If you could ask your British friends to help answer the key question, we would greatly appreciate it.

What was Captain Duff's real nationality and does anybody have a bio for him.

THanks in advance

George Daskowski
Board of Directors
Canadian Automoitve Collection



[This is the information we have.]

4 = 8 Capt J.F. Duff, AUS
Bentley Sport Capt. John F Duff, AUS/CDN/GB?
Frank Clement, GB 2996 4 1933.344

1 1 8 Duff & Adlington, GB
Bentley Sport Capt. John F Duff, AUS/CDN/GB
Frank Clement, GB 2995 4 2077.340

28 DNF 9
Bentley Capt. John F. Duff, AUS/CDN/GB?
Frank Clement, GB 3276 4 64
1047.680 Carburettor
fire

[SL]

Liz,

A starter for you.

1924 JE Duff won Le Mans in a Bentley with Frank Clement total 1290.75 miles av speed 53.75mph.

I'm sure that any second now a certain TD will be swooping in with full life story.......

In my book he is shown as GB. I would have to search a bit more to be 100% sure. I'll wait to see if Tim has the info available first though.


Simon

[SL]

Oh,

A wee bit more.

The same partnership were 4th overall in the 1923 Le Mans (The first time it was held) They drove Chassis 141(also known as 'Old Number 8) a 3l Bentley in both events. Their 1924 win was the first of 5 wins in the event. (Will become 6 in June 2001 )

Simon

[TimD]

In days of old, Motor Sport magazine used to have a saying they reserved for when historical sources seemed irreconcilably muddled. They would shrug their collective shoulders and mutter

"Pity the poor historian..."

You see, Captain John F. Duff seems to be a popular man. So popular, in fact, that everyone wants to claim him as their own.

He has been variously described as Australian, Canadian, English, and in one text, as a "genial Irishman".

Most famous for his racing at Le Mans, John Duff was the London agent for Bentley in the 1920s. As SL has confirmed, his record at Le Mans was;

1923 4th
1924 1st
1925 retired with carburettor fire, 64 laps

His recorded racing career started in August 1920 - at Brooklands, and was commenced on a Fiat S61 Grand Prix car of about 1910. Later graduating to Ernest Eldridge's Fiat SB4-190 "Mephistopheles", the 200hp Benz and the Blitzen Benz, his first Bentley drive was in 1922.

After 1923, he did not compete again at Brooklands, but his oval track racing was by no means over at that point.

When Herb Jones was killed qualifying for the 1926 Indianapolis 500, car owner Al Cotey persuaded John Duff to take on the hastily rebuilt Indy Miller. Duff started last of 28, and eventually climbed to 9th place overall at the end of the race.

Two weeks later, he took the Miller 91 to an impressive 3rd place on the fast and treacherous board track at Altoona in the AAA championship 250-mile race.

On July 5 1926, he was competing on the boards at Rockingham, when the Miller pitched him into the retaining rail. Barely escaping with his life, Captain Duff never raced again.

He died in 1958. His passing marked by a scant couple of sentences in the journals of the time.

[Liz]

Thanks Tim! We were kind of hoping he'd turn out to be Canadian. But he sounds like an interesting fellow even if he wasn't.

I'll pass this on to George.