Michelle Duff is a former Grand Prix

Grand Prix motorcycle racing

Road Racing World Championship Grand Prix is the premier championship of motorcycle road racing currently divided into three distinct classes: 125cc, Moto2 and MotoGP. The 125cc class uses a two-stroke engine while Moto2 and MotoGP use four-stroke engines. In 2010 the 250cc two-stroke was replaced...

 motorcycle

Motorcycle

A motorcycle is a single-track, two-wheeled motor vehicle. Motorcycles vary considerably depending on the task for which they are designed, such as long distance travel, navigating congested urban traffic, cruising, sport and racing, or off-road conditions.Motorcycles are one of the most...

 road racer

Road racing

Road racing is a general term for most forms of motor racing held on paved, purpose-built race tracks , as opposed to oval tracks and off-road racing...

. Her best season was in 1965

1965 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season

The 1965 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season was the 17th F.I.M. Road Racing World Championship Grand Prix season. The season consisted of thirteen Grand Prix races in six classes: 500cc, 350cc, 250cc, 125cc, 50cc and Sidecars 500cc...

 when she won the 250cc Finnish Grand Prix

Finnish motorcycle Grand Prix

Finnish motorcycle Grand Prix was the Finnish round of the FIM Grand Prix motorcycle racing championship from 1962 to 1982. It was held at the Tampere Circuit in 1962 and 1963 before moving to Imatra. Giacomo Agostini won the most Finnish Grands Prix with ten 500cc victories and seven 350cc...

 and finished the year in second place to Phil Read

Phil Read

Phillip William Read is an English former Grand Prix motorcycle road racer nicknamed "The Prince of Speed." Although he would often be overshadowed by his contemporary, Mike Hailwood, he would become the first man to win world championships in the 125cc, 250cc and 500cc classes.-Biography:In 1964,...

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As Michelle Ann Duff following transsexual transition she wrote The Mike Duff Story: Make Haste Slowly.

Duff suffered a near-fatal crash in Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

 and required extensive surgery and physical therapy. Her recovery was documented in the 1966 National Film Board of Canada

National Film Board of Canada

The National Film Board of Canada is Canada's twelve-time Academy Award-winning public film producer and distributor. An agency of the Government of Canada, the NFB produces and distributes documentary, animation, alternative drama and digital media productions...

 short documentary film Ride for Your Life, directed by Robin Spry

Robin Spry

Robin Spry was a Canadian filmmaker and television producer best known for his documentary film Action: The October Crisis of 1970 about Quebec's October Crisis.-Profile:...

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