Heat by Heat Results - August 1973

The Dukes had been victorious on their last trip to Plough Lane, but this time they slipped to a four point defeat to lose further ground in the title chase.  Eric Boocock, still fuming from the events of the previous day, bounced back from an opening race defeat by Harkins, to record 14 points, but the remaining Dukes faded mid-meeting.  Charlie Monk took an important win in heat 12 to ensure a last heat decider, but with Sharpe suffering from hay-fever, it was up to John Jackson to try and salvage the draw.  Mike Hiftle fell awkwardly in heat 4 and took no further part, and his absence certainly did not help Halifax's chances.  The Dons' Stapleton was excluded after the end of heat 11, as the referee realised he had already taken his maximum of five rides.  Eric Boocock successfully defended the Golden Helmet against Trevor Hedge at the end of the match.

With a new look reserve partnership of John Jackson and Dave Gatenby, Halifax saw off Coventry at the Shay in a last heat decider.  Halifax appeared to be cruising to victory over a 3-man Bees side, but a 5-1 from former Duke Jay and Nigel Boocock clawed Coventry back to 4 behind.  John Titman held his nerve in the last race to defeat Boocock and seal the win.  It was Bill Andrew's turn to be off the pace as he suffered from a lack of power all night.  Eric Boocock yet again retained the Golden Helmet by beating Garry Middleton.

The Dukes lost on the road at Exeter, despite the best efforts of Boocock, Andrew, Titman and Gatenby.  John Jackson was riding for Crewe, so the Dukes included Gatenby's Sunderland team-mate Jim Wells, but he failed to make an impression.  Sharpe was badly shaken after a heavy crash in heat 3, and although he continued, he was off the pace.  But none of the Dukes had any answer to the brilliance of Mauger, as he stormed to a 12 point maximum, and then ended Boocock's tenure as Golden Helmet holder.

Halifax signed Norwegian Jan Gravningen following the Exeter defeat, and he was included as the Dukes made the trip to Newport.  The meeting, however, was remembered for the crash which ended the season for skipper Eric Boocock.  The captain was having a frustrating night, beaten into 3rd place, and then breaking the tapes, before being put in as a tactical substitute in heat 6.  But team mate Bill Andrew picked up drive after hitting dirt on the second bend, and Boocock took evasive action, hitting the safety fence, and a scaffold pole supporting it.  Without their number one, the Dukes fell to the inevitable heavy defeat, and awaited on news of their injured skipper, now on his way to hospital.

The Dukes moved on without their skipper.  An 8 point victory over a stubborn Dons side, with guest John Louis scoring 10 points was just what was needed, as they tried to get their season back on track.  Louis was well backed-up by Andrew, Monk and Titman, with Hull youngster Auffret showing a liking for the Shay track.  Gravningen made his home debut, but like his compatriot Hansen earlier in the season, did not immediately look at home in his new surroundings.  The Dons kept the meeting alive largely down to the efforts of the classy Tommy Jansson.  The victory pushed the Dukes back up to 4th place in the league.

The damage had already been done in the first leg, so the exit from the Cup at the hands of Belle Vue was no real surprise, although the Dukes could savour victory on the night.  Peter Collins was the star of the night for the Aces, but new skipper Titman, Monk, Andrew and Sharpe had enough about them to ensure the win, with Titman and Monk securing the win in the final race.  Leicester's John Boulger proved an adequate guest for the injured Boocock, setting the Dukes on the way with a fast time in the opening heat.

King's Lynn exacted some revenge on the Dukes for the result in Norfolk earlier in the season by taking a point from the Shay, as the Dukes lost their perfect home record.  The result could have been worse, as Halifax needed Monk and Titman to rescue a point in the final race, although the skipper was unable to catch Betts and steal the win.  Jan Gravningen finally defeated an opponent on track when he beat Humphreys in heat 3, and guest Tony Lomas struggled to make much of an impression early on, before coming good later.  Charlie Monk got a rare opportunity to take the Golden Helmet from current holder Terry Betts, but was well beaten.

Any lingering notions that Halifax could sustain a title challenge were well and truly ended at champions-elect Reading.  The Racers surged on in their title pursuit, with only guest Ray Wilson, and Dave Gatenby in the reserve race, managing to take points from the hosts in a one-sided encounter.  Michanek, Lovaas and Curtis continued their recent high scoring runs and were unbeaten, as the Racers failed to register a last place all night.  The 40 point defeat would go down as the Dukes heaviest ever loss, beating the 19-58 defeat at Exeter in 1968.

Halifax got back to winning ways with a comfortable victory over bottom side Coatbridge.  Skipper John Titman and Bill Andrew were well supported by Charlie Monk and guest Reg Wilson, with the match won as early as heat 10.  The reserve pairing of Sharpe and Gatenby weighed in with valuable points, but Gravningen was still struggling, his bikes clearly being well short of what was needed at British League level...

With weekends running out, the originally planned £100 challenge match against Belle Vue was doubled to include the Northern Trophy, twice postponed earlier in the season.  With both teams missing their top man, each side promoted from within, with the Dukes giving another outing to Frank Auffret.  In a close match, Bill Andrew and John Titman saw the Dukes secure the win, with the new captain again holding his nerve to win the vital final heat.  But it was a nightmare for Gravningen, who failed to get his bike started ahead of heats 3 and 5 - and when he did finally get to the tapes for heat 9, he then slid off.  Les Sharpe was involved in a heavy crash in his second half ride.

The depleted Dukes were well beaten at Ipswich, for whom Louis and Davey were unbeaten.  John Titman and guest Dave Jessup, only just returning from injury himself, fought a lone battle to keep the scores respectable.  Halifax included second halfer Carl Glover who impressed with 6 points on his debut, but with Sharpe out injured, and Jackson and Gatenby unavailable, Halifax had to borrow local junior Howgego at reserve.  Gravningen again failed to pick up a point, whilst Monk and Andrew had nights to forget.

The Dukes had guest Martin Ashby to thank for avoiding another heavy defeat, this time at the hands of Wolverhampton.  Halifax kept it close in the early stages due to 2 heat wins for Gatenby.  But successive heat advantages in heats 6 and 7 took the Wolves into a lead they would not relinquish.  John Jackson was the latest Duke to be in the wars, hitting the fence in the reserve race, and being unable to continue.  The Dukes ended the month down to 7th in the league, with little hope of making up ground on those above them as the final weeks of the season approached.