Michelle Duff’s Make Haste Slowly: The Mike Duff Story stands as one of the most vivid and intimate chronicles of grand prix motorcycle racing ever written. It is important to state from the outset that the book is not about her transition or her later life as Michelle. Instead, it is a deep dive into the racing world of Mike Duff, the Canadian athlete who carved his name into the history of the Continental Circus during the golden age of the sport. The book is a celebration of speed, technical mastery, courage, and the relentless pursuit of excellence at a time when the world of motorcycle racing was changing at an unprecedented pace.
At the heart of the story is Mike Duff, the first North American and the only Canadian to claim a victory in a world championship grand prix motorcycle race. Across the pages, Duff’s accomplishments unfold with the clarity of lived memory rather than mere historical retelling. The book captures the thrill of the 1964 250 Belgian Grand Prix at Spa Francorchamps, where Duff claimed his first world championship win on one of the most challenging circuits ever built. It then moves into the exhilarating 1965 season when he stood again atop the winner’s rostrum at the 125 Dutch Grand Prix at Assen in the Netherlands and yet again at the 250 Finnish Grand Prix at Imatra. These victories form the backbone of a career that combined raw determination with technical brilliance and a deep connection to the machines he rode.
Duff’s 1964 season is remembered as one of the high points of his early career. Riding a private AJS 7R 350 single, he managed to finish third in the 350 world championship. The achievement speaks volumes about his ability to compete with the factory-backed giants of the era. That season set the stage for 1965, which many fans and historians consider his finest year. On a factory Yamaha RD56 250 twin, Duff fought his way to second place in the world championship, finishing behind only Phil Read. These results cemented his reputation as one of the most gifted racers of his generation even though he never secured a world title or an Isle of Man TT victory.
The Isle of Man TT nevertheless occupies a central emotional place in the book. Duff describes the labyrinthine roads, the tight corners lined with stone walls and hedges, and the unmistakable rhythm of a course that is equal parts poetry and peril. He did not merely race there but conquered its unique demands and carried its magic within him for the rest of his life. For most people, the TT is a legend whispered through highlight reels and brief stories. For Duff, it was a living, breathing world, an arena that tested the soul as much as the body.
Disaster eventually came in the form of a near-fatal crash in Japan. The book recounts the violence of the impact and the long, arduous recovery that followed. Duff underwent extensive surgery and grueling physical therapy. His rehabilitation was later documented in the National Film Board of Canada’s short film Ride for Your Life. In Make Haste Slowly, this chapter of his life is depicted in all its difficulty yet also in its determination. It reveals the depth of character that defined his career and the resilience that carried him far beyond racing.
The story continues through his personal life, including his marriage to a Finnish woman in 1963 and the birth of his two children. It acknowledges that in 1984 he changed his name to Michelle and began a new chapter of her life, yet the book remains firmly rooted in the earlier decades when Mike Duff was a rising star in the racing world. Michelle Duff made it clear that the work was not a memoir about her journey as a trans woman. Instead, it is an exploration of her life as a professional motorcycle racer and a tribute to the world she once inhabited at full throttle.
Make Haste Slowly resonates with themes of courage, disappointment, triumph, and the relentless drive to achieve something extraordinary. It captures the feeling of standing alone on the podium, listening to the Canadian national anthem in absolute stillness, and then raising one’s arms as thousands of spectators cheer a victory born of solitary effort and personal mastery. It is no wonder that four-time world champion Hugh Anderson described the book as a tale of human endeavour with a truly unique ending and expressed how deeply he enjoyed it.
As a final chapter to this remarkable life story, Michelle Ann Duff passed away in Liverpool, Nova Scotia, on 23 July 2025, at the age of eighty-five. Her legacy as a racer and storyteller remains not only in the record books but in the pages of Make Haste Slowly, a testament to a life lived on the very edge of possibility and a gift to all motorcycle racing fans who wish to understand what it feels like to chase victory with nothing but courage, skill, and the roar of a racing machine beneath you.
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Photos via bikereview.com.au
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