The Dukes in the World Championship 1972

A change to the World Championship rounds in the UK in 1972 would see more opportunities for the lower average and Division 2 riders, with a series of 5 preliminary rounds at Division 2 tracks providing 15 qualifiers for the next stages.  The World Final would return to Wembley on the 16th September, and controversially, the number of places available for British and Commonwealth riders was reduced to only 5, making it very difficult to qualify.  Seven Dukes set off on the long road to Wembley in April - their various exploits are detailed below:

Mike Hiftle - was included in the extra preliminary rounds, and went to Barrow to attempt to claim one of the 3 places in the qualifiers.  But Hiftle crashed in his first race, and withdrew from the rest of the meeting - the chance of amassing enough points to make the top 3 having gone.

John Titman - being his first season in the UK, Titman was not included in the main draw, but got his first chance of World Championship action as a late replacement for Ronnie Genz in the Halifax round.  Scored only 3 points - but Titman would become a fixture of the World Championship rounds in the future.

Tommy Roper - the returning Duke scored 11 points in his home round at the Shay, and 7 in the subsequent round at Exeter.  But plagued by mechanical issues from the start of his return, Roper failed to take his place in his final round.

Alan Jay - scored only 5 points at the Shay, and then 6 points at Reading - clearly unable to qualify, he chose not to participate in his final round.

Greg Kentwell - completed his 3 qualifiers - scored 8 points at Halifax, followed by 7 points at Exeter and 6 at Leicester.  But his 21 point total was not enough to get into the final 32 and the semi-finals.

Dave Younghusband - was in peak form as the qualifiers began, and progressed to the semi finals with 11 points at the Shay, 10 at Wimbledon, and a further 9 at Leicester.  He was drawn to return to Leicester for the next stage, but went out, having scored only 4 points on a disappointing night.  This was ultimately to be his last World Championship action as a Duke, as he suffered a badly broken leg in June, which ended his season, and subsequently his tenure as a Halifax rider.

Eric Boocock - once again, the Dukes' hopes of World Championship success rested with their skipper.  Boocock dropped only 9 points from a possible 45 in his qualifiers, with a maximum at Halifax backed up with a further 10 at Reading, and 11 at Sheffield.  Comfortably navigated the semi-final at Sheffield with 10 points to qualify for the British Final at Coventry at the start of August, just 5 races away from Wembley.  Ten points in the final saw Boocock tied with Jimmy McMillan for the fifth and final place in the Wembley show-piece, but Boocock won the ensuing run-off to claim his third (and final) appearance in a World Final.  

On the night however, Boocock had a nightmare, excluded from his first outing, he then ran 3 last places, before a final race second place saw him finish in a lowly 15th place.  Ivan Mauger regained his crown, after defeating Bernt Persson in a run-off, with outgoing champion Ole Olsen recovering from a controversial first race fall to finish third.  The meeting was marred by the serious injury suffered by multiple champion Barry Briggs in heat five.