Heat by Heat Results - August 1967

With Dave Younghusband ruled out with broken bones in his foot, Halifax were never in with a serious chance at Wolverhampton, and slipped to a 14 point reverse, despite the 18 point maximum from Eric Boocock.  But it was a torrid night overall for the rest of the Dukes, as Boothroyd failed to make much of an impact, and the remaining 5 riders contrubuting a mere 6 points.  Kentwell was agrieved in heat 4 when he appeared to have passed Bond on the line, but the referee saw it differently and awarded the win to the home rider. The Wolves negated the treat of Boocock by filling in the minor places each time, and took advantage when Boocock was not involved.

Halifax made sure of quick revenge against Wolverhampton, courtesy of 13 points from Boocock and 12, plus sound team riding from Boothroyd.  Kentwell and Gavros also did their bit, with Gavros in particular playing a vital team role.  Two 5-1s in the final 2 races made the scoreline seem more comfortable than it was, as Wolves, through Airey and Vandenberg refused to go away.  Bert Kingston looked the best he had been since his injury lay-off, but Maury Robinson struggled again, and with Bob Jameson winning 2 of his races in the second half, the pressure was building on Robinson for the final team place.

Aided by Shay practice a week earlier, Wolverhampton star Jim Airey was the surprise winner of the 1967 Dews Trophy.  Airey dropped his only point to Eric Boocock in heat 19, but knowing Boocock had dropped 3 vital points with a fall in his opening ride, Airey knew second place would be enough to give him the trophy.  Even a final race win for Boothroyd would not have been enough to keep the trophy in Halifax hands, but Boothroyd could only finish behind Ray Wilson in any event.  Bob Jameson impressed with 9 points and 4th place, a performance which resulted in him being promoted back into the Dukes team.

The Dukes travelled to King's Lynn but had no answer to the twin-spearhead of Betts and Crane as the Stars ran out comfortable winners.  Once again, it was left to Boocock and Boothroyd to keep Halifax going, but only 3 heat wins all night meant the outcome was inevitable.  The result may have been closer had Boocock not stopped when challenging Betts in heat 6, but the Stars gated faster all night on a slick track, giving the Dukes little chance.  Bob Jameson tried hard on his return to the team, and Bert Kingston registered his first heat victory since returning from injury in heat 11.

Halifax eased to a 19 point victory over West Ham with double figure scores from Kentwell, Boothroyd and Boocock.  With Younghusband still absent, and the Hammers also missing their number 1 Harrfeldt, the decision was made to cancel out rider replacement and promote riders into each team - so Bob Jameson stepped in at number 1, with a return for Maury Robinson at reserve.  The match was note-worthy for numerous falls and crashes, with several controversial refereeing decisions upsetting both camps, and resulting in the meeting not concluding until nearly 11pm!

Dae Younghusband made a surprise return to the Dukes line up, but struggled to make an impact as Halifax lost on their travels again.  Glasgow were solid throughout and content to settle for minor places when Boocock was on track, with 5 of their riders earning a win or paid win and only running 4 last places all night.  For the Dukes, Boocock received limited support from Boothroyd, although Bob Jameson was an impressive winner of heat 8.  But with Younghusband clearly far from fit, and zero points from Kingston and Kentwell, Halifax were always up against it.

With Dave Younghusband ruling himself out again, the Dukes went to to Coventry more in hope than expectation, and were on the receiving end of their biggest defeat of the season.  On a typically slick Brandon track, the Bees were quicker from the starts, and the Dukes simply could not get a foothold in the match, with 2 shared heats the best they could muster.  Boocock was hampered by engine problems and won the Dukes sole race of the evening in heat 12, by which time the meeting was well and truly lost.

What should have been a routine home victory against bottom of the table Heathens degenerated into acrimony and farce after 3 races.  Unhappy with the state of the wet track, the returning Younghusband, Gavros and Boocock refused to continue.  When the referee ruled the track fit to carry on, the match continued without the 3 Dukes, the referee giving dispensation to use Maury Robinson as number 8.  The remaining riders gave their all, with bob Jameson scoring a career-best 12+1 from 6 outings, but the Heathens rallied from 7 points down to snatch the lead and an unlikely win in the final heat for only their second ever away victory!

The Dukes reached the end of August with another defeat on the road, this time in Dorset.  Boocock, on machinery borrowed from Exeter's Jimmy Squibb, his own en route to Sweden for the World Team Final, again bore the brunt of the workload for Halifax, with Boothroyd and Younghusband struggling, and Kentwell and Gavros out of touch.  Jameson and Kingston probably deserved more than their 4 and 3 points would suggest, but with Gote Nordin in world-class form, the outcome was always going to be a home win.  The defeat left the Dukes languishing in 13th place in the league, but they would have their chance for revenge as they entered September...