Heat by Heat Results - August 1974

Halifax welcomed back Rick France and Mike Hiftle for the trip to Sheffield, but still without Monk and Gatenby, they were further weakened by the withdrawal of Boocock following his crash in the Northern Riders Championship.  Guest Phil Crump did his best to prevent a complete whitewash, as Hiftle, France and Kroeze all failed to defeat an opponent, with Plant and Jackson suffering from mechanical problems.  Remarkably, the Dukes were only 4 points behind after 6 races, but ran out of options as the Tigers took control.

With the tops stars in Denmark for the British/Nordic Final, Halifax staged a rare 4-Team Tournament, featuring 2 home teams, Hull and Wolverhampton.  Dave Gatenby returned from injury, but Andy Cusworth replaced the still absent Monk.  Dukes' stars France and Plant both scored 10 points for their respective teams, with solid scoring from Jackson, Gatenby and Kroeze boosting Halifax 2 to a total of 30 points.  But an all-round Hull performance saw them emerge as victors, with ex-Duke Roper's second place in the final race seeing them over the line.

The depleted Dukes snatched an unlikely draw in East London, with Henny Kroeze and guest Malcolm Simmons securing a last heat 3-3 to secure a point.  But Halifax will look on this as a win that got away, as they were 4 points in front with only 2 races left.  Thomas and Maloney took a vital 5-1 over France and Plant to level the scores in heat 12, and Hawks guest Crump outgated the Dukes pairing in the final race to leave honours even.

The Dukes secured another home victory with a hard-fought win over Ipswich, with Rick France and Graham Plant victorious in another last-heat decider.  Guest Reg Wilson was good value for his 10 points, whilst Kroeze added 7 valuable points from reserve.  Mike Hiftle came good late on to secure a 5-1 with Wilson to give the Dukes a 4 point lead, which France and Plant then converted to a win with a 4-2 over John Louis, who had an off-night by his own standards.

A gap in the calendar was filled by the "Revenge Challenge" against a Sheffield side who had defeated the Dukes at the Shay twice already.  And the Tigers made it three, with a convincing 10 point victory.  Halifax thought they had turned the tide when they pulled level through Plant and Hiftle in heat 9, but the match slipped away from the Dukes in the last four races, with consecutive 5-1s sealing the win in heats 12 and 13.  Bob Valentine continued his recent impressive run at Halifax with a maximum, whilst Gatenby, Drury and Hiftle all struggled to make any ground.

The Dukes returned to winning ways with yet another last heat decider over Oxford.  The Rebels plan of picking up the minor places kept them in contention, and a shock 5-1 by Kilby and Davis in heat 11 over France and Kroeze set up a tense finish.  Boocock completed his maximum in heat 12, and with Hiftle picking up a vital point, the Dukes led by 4.  Graham Plant made no mistake in the decider, as he recovered after a first race duck.  Dave Gatenby was still struggling with his back niggles, and John Jackson was off the pace, failing to score.