Heat by Heat Results - August 1966

Halifax entered the final 3 months of the season with a vital away victory at Oxford.  Still without Eric Boothroyd, and with Eric Boocock riding for England at Sheffield, Coventry's Ron Mountford was drafted in, and in spite of league considerations, proved a first-class guest, dropping his only point to Pander in heat 1. Once the Dukes took the lead with Younghusband and Kingston in heat 2, they never looked back, and although a Cheetahs 5-1 in heat 12 set up a nervy last race, Mountford and Younghusband sealed the win to take the points.

24 hours on from the win at Oxford, the Dukes stole another 2 points with a last-heat thriller at Hackney, despite the efforts of home star Colin Pratt.  The Dukes used Cyril Maidment from Belle Vue as a guest, and he proved a valuable back-up to Roper and Younghusband who both kept the Dukes ahead throughout.  The result seemed inevitable after Gavros and Kingston sealed a 5-1 win in heat 8, but the Hawks pulled the deficit back to 4 points to set up the final race.  But whilst Pratt sealed his maximum, Younghusband and Maidment kept Jackson at the rear to ensure the win.

All the attention on league form was forgotten for one night, as Halifax eased into the semi-finals of the Knock-out cup at the expense of 1965 League Champions West Ham.  The Dukes operated rider replacement for Boocock, who was nursing a sore hand after crashing in the test match at Coventry the previous week, but were boosted by the return of Boothroyd.  The skipper was well supported by Roper and Younghusband, but it was an all-round team performance which saw off a 3-man Hammers team.

In rainy conditions, Halifax turned in an heroic performance to see off title-chasing Swindon.  And there was non-more heroic than Eric Boocock who was suffered stomach pains and breathing difficulties in the pits after his heat 9 victory.  Barry Briggs brought the Robins back to within 2 points after coming in for the injured Broadbank in heat 12, but 3 races on the trot proved too much for Briggo as Boocock returned to team up with Boothroyd to seal the win with a last heat 5-1.  To make the night even better, Boocock then relieved Briggs of the Silver Sash match race championship.  No race times were recorded due to problems with the Shay PA system, caused by the wet weather.

After the excitement of Saturday v Swindon, the Dukes travelled to Newcastle in the Northern Cup, and put in a lacklustre performance to slip to an 11 point defeat. Boothroyd, Gavros and Kingston were all plagued by engine problems, and a 5-1 in heat 11 ws nulified when Younghusband fell whilst leading, and Kingston laid his bike down.  Kingston then fell again in the re-run to hand a 5-0 to the Diamonds.  Eric Boocock continued his rich vein of form with an 11 point return, beaten only by Mauger in heat 10.

Halifax avenged their defeat 5 days earlier with a hard-fought victory over the Diamonds at The Shay.  An all round team performance was more than enough to offset a superb display by Ivan Mauger, who rattled off 14 points, beaten only by Boocock in heat 5.  Boocock was again troubled by a misfiring engine in heat 3, and Kingston shed a chain whilst well placed in heat 8.  Having lost by 11 points at Byker on Monday night, the 12 point victory was enough to give the Dukes 2 points to the Diamonds 1, and leave Halifax on top of the Northern Cup league table with one fixture to go.

Midweek victories for both Coventry and Swindon meant Halifax had no room for complacency, and they made sure of another 2 points with a comfortable win over Wimbledon.  In difficult conditions, following showers through the day, Eric Boocock once again demonstrated his class with a 12 point maximum, well supported by Younghusband and Boothroyd.  Bob Jameson contributed two maximum heat victories from his races, with the tie being settled after heat 9, the Dons losing vital ground in the title chase, which was now looking like a 3 horse race.  The only down side to the evening was Boocock losing the Silver Sash to Olle Nygren.

The Dukes returned to action on August Bank Holiday evening with a rainy encounter against bottom of the table Cradley Heath, in the Heathens first match since the death of Ivor Hughes in their home match against Sheffield the week before.  The match itself was predictable, with Halifax easing to an 18 point lead after only 6 races, and cantering to the win.  Both Younghusband and Boocock were unbeaten by an opponent, with all the Dukes in the points, bar Jameson who had engine problems.  The victory was made even better as news filtered through that Coventry had lost at Wimbledon.