Geoff Duke
When he was 16 world champion racer John Surtees was an apprentice at the Vincent factory. He made his first headlines in 1951 when he gave Norton star Geoff Duke a strong challenge in an ACU race at the Thruxton Circuit In 1952 John Surtees set a new lap record on his first outing of the season at Brands Hatch and throughout the early 1950s was virtually unbeatable on his Vincent Grey Flash racer.