Heat by Heat Results - March 1973

A new season, a new-look Dukes team, but the same old story at Belle Vue, as the Aces cruised to an easy win in the season-opening Northern Trophy.  With new signing Bill Andrew still to arrive from Australia, John Jackson filled in, but there were early signs he might find the pace too much.  Charlie Monk showed consistency with four second places, whilst Mike Hiftle and John Titman proved a nuisance to the hosts, but Eric Boocock had a poor night by his high standards.  The Aces, minus the Exeter-bound Mauger were always in control, with Sjosten and Pusey scoring maximums, and Peter Collins only dropping points due to a tapes exclusion in the last race.

Five nights on from the opening night disappointment, Halifax showed a more competitive edge as they went down at Sheffield.  The scores were level after 8 races, courtesy of solid scoring from Boocock, Titman, Monk and Sharpe, but successive 5-1s for the Tigers in the next 2 races swung the tie in Sheffield's favour.  Again, Jackson was in for Andrew, but failed to score, whilst both Hansen and Hiftle found points hard to come by, with the Norwegian down on power.

The Dukes got their first victory of the season back at Coatbridge, following the Tigers' return after their tenure at Hampden.  Despite a maximum for Bobby Beaton, solid all-round scoring from the Dukes' top four clinched the win for Halifax, with Monk and Boocock securing the all-important shared heat in the last race.  A reserve race 5-1 from Jackson and Hansen proved vital in the end, although the pair failed to score again, as Hansen particularly had mechanical issues.  The hosts were not helped by a poor return from guest Sjosten, who only managed to defeat Hiftle on the Dukes side all night.

The first action of 1973 at the Shay saw Halifax clinch overall victory over Coatbridge in the Watson Cup.  Eric Boocock was unbeaten, and the pairing with John Titman was starting to pay dividends, with the Aussie only dropping 2 points.  Both Sharpe and Monk had a heat win each, whilst John Jackson won the reserve race and shared a 5-1 with Titman in heat 8.  Hiftle recovered well after a first race exclusion, but it was clear Hansen, still having mechanical problems,  was going to have to get used to his new home track.