Heat by Heat Results - April 1971

The early season optimism soon disappeared as Halifax were brought crashing down to earth with a 23 point defeat at Owlerton, albeit in a challenge match.  In a night described by Eric Boothroyd as the worst he had ever experienced, the Dukes were plagued by mechanical and electrical problems, with Boocock, Younghusband and Mackay - both his own bike and the spare - all being affected.  A tapes exclusion for Jay added to the frustration, as the Tigers won at ease.

48 hours on from their defeat at Sheffield, the Dukes bounced back to overcome a dogged Glasgow Tigers side.  George Hunter set a new track record in heat one, and was a threat all night.  Boocock was unbeaten after that first race, whilst Younghusband also scored 11, including the heat 13 win over Hunter and McMillan which sealed the win.  The negatives were the poor returns from Mackay and Lee - Mackay managing only 2 points against Bill McMillan, and Lee failing to score before being replaced in his final outing.

Halifax went down by 10 points at Belle Vue in a creditable performance, held together by Eric Boocock and the superb Dave Younghusband.  As usual, Mauger was unbeaten for the Aces, but after a shaky start, the Dukes dragged themselves back to 6 points behind, before the Aces finished the job.  For the second meeting in a row, Lee and Mackay appeared to struggle, and O'Neal was also off the pace.

The Dukes exacted some sort of revenge over Sheffield in a much-improved performance.  Eric Boocock took a paid maximum, un-selfishly seeing Paul O'Neal home in heat 12, whilst lowering the track record in the opening race.  Dave Younghusband equaled the time three races later, and also looked on course for a full-house until denied by the ever-impressive Airey in the final heat.  Chris Bailey put in a good performance at reserve, but Terry Lee struggled again.

Halifax took a hard-fought victory over rivals Belle Vue, although they lost the challenge match on aggregate.  But the victory came at a price, as Chris Bailey was ruled out after a crash with Dave Hemus in heat 7, which left him with a broken wrist.  World Champion Mauger was in imperious form, blasting to a maximum, and taking a full second off the Shay track record in heat one.  For once, it was the Dukes' strength in depth which saw them win, with Mauger lacking much in the way of support.

With Greg Kentwell unwell, the Dukes hopes of a first win at King's Lynn were shattered when Dave Younghusband broke down on the way to Norfolk.  Already lacking the injured Bailey, Halifax resembled almost a second-string side, with Boocock and Jay scoring all but 6 of their points.  Mackay, Lee, Durham and Sheffield loanee Wilson all failed to beat a home rider, whilst O'Neal only managed that feat when Turner fell in heat 12.  Boocock won his first 4 races, but was denied a maximum in the final race.

Dave Younghusband stormed to a 15 point maximum as Halifax hosted their annual World Championship qualifier.  Having won his first 3 races, the crunch heat came in heat 15 when he came up against the also-unbeaten Ronnie Moore.  Moore was a late addition to the line-up, swapping with the injured Trevor Hedge, to give the latter more time to recover for his rounds.  Eric Boocock lost to Moore in his second heat, and then ruined his chances of a win with a rare fall in heat 14.

The Dukes travelled to Swindon at the end of April minus Alan Jay, suffering from the effects of a second half crash earlier in the month.  Despite the lack of Jay and Chris Bailey, Halifax put up a solid fight against the Robins, being in contention throughout, until two late heat advantages, both involving the unbeaten Briggs, saw the Robins pull away.  Terry Lee had a welcome return to form, being unbeaten in his first two races, whilst Kentwell improved after a nightmare start.