Heat by Heat Results - June 1974

Danish star Ole Olsen won his third Dews Trophy in four seasons in a class field at the Shay. Olsen recovered from a shock third place in heat one behind Gatenby and Auffret to record four straight victories, his defeat of Dave Jessup in heat 19 taking him to the title.  Dukes skipper Boocock ended up in second place again thanks to a last heat win over Rick France, whilsy Hackney's Barry Thomas secured third place, despite winning only one race.  All the Dukes riders made contributions to the event, with Eddie Argall replacing the absent Bob Paulson.

Dukes' supporters started dreaming of 1966, as Halifax destroyed nearest challengers Wolves in the battle of the top two.  Ole Olsen continued from his Dews Trophy success by winning all 5 of his races, but his team-mates were a let down, scoring only 9 points between them as the Dukes failed to register a last place all night.  Boocock and Plant led the way with 10 points each, with Gatenby and the reserve pairing of Hiftle and Kroeze also impressing.  The meeting took place following heavy rain which left the track wet, but both sets of riders agreed the track was raceable, and the meeting went ahead without a single fall.

Wolverhampton had a quick chance of revenge for their heavy defeat at Halifax, and took full advantage of the Dukes' loss of France the night before to secure a 13 point win, to re-close the gap at the top of the table.  Halifax had Boocock and Charlie Monk to thank for keeping them in the tie, with Monk winning his first 3 heats before fading.  But with Plant, Hiftle and Gatenby all coming to grief on the tight track, the Dukes were always second best, as Olsen rattled up another maximum for the hosts.

Halifax maintained their league lead with run-of-the-mill win over local rivals Hull, with Boocock, Monk and Plant all registering double-figure scores.  The meeting will be remembered however for the chaotic scenes before heat 11.  The Vikings duo of Roper and McMillan both returned to the pit gate, unaware the 2-minute warning was about to expire.  When they were correctly excluded, the Hull management delayed the heat with their protests, and Roper packed up and left the stadium.  The heat was eventually won by surprise packet Gardner, who also came in to win the final race.

The Dukes momentum was lost in a bad defeat at King's Lynn.  No Boocock and no France meant little chance, and with a choice of suitable guests limited due the England v Sweden test match the same night, Halifax had to get special permission to use Bob Kilby, as he had already ridden there in the last week.  The Dukes kept it close for the first seven race, but a Plant fall in heat 8 opened the floodgates, as the Stars dropped only one point in the remaining 6 races.  Charlie Monk was the best Duke on show, with Kliby as guest not offering much.  With Wolverhampton defeating Poole the same night, the Dukes slipped off the top of the table...

In a disappointing 24 hours, the Dukes followed up their lacklustre performance in Norfolk by losing their unbeaten home league record, as the Aces won at the Shay for the second time in a matter of weeks.  Henny Kroeze had his best performance and score to date, but the Aces top 5 were far too powerful for the home side.  With each side lacking a heat leader, the sides opted to promote rather than use rider replacement, but Graham Drury had an off night scoring only one point.  And Mike Hiftle joined the injury list, his heavy crash in heat 10 landing him back on the sidelines with damaged knee ligaments.  The result would go down in Dukes history as their largest ever home defeat.

The bruised and battered Dukes went to Newport at the end of June and so nearly pulled off a shock win.  Henny Kroeze and guest Terry Betts kept Halifax in the hunt, and the Dukes took the lead on 2 occasions, before being pegged back, leaving the scores level after 10 races.  Plant and Gatenby combined to keep the scores level in heat 11, and then Betts ended Eide's maximum hopes in heat 12 to set up a nervy finish.  But the fast-starting Crump made the gate in the decider, leaving Betts no chance, and with Plant struggling after a heavy heat one crash, Street secured the point to see the Wasps take the win.

The Dukes slumped to their second successive home defeat, as the optimism of heading the table from a month earlier well and truly evaporated.  The meeting was close throughout, but ultimately a 5-1 from Wilson and Valentine in heat 12 took the wind out of the Dukes' sails, with Plant breaking down whilst well placed.  Guest Billy Sanders scored two early heat wins, but then faded, as the Tigers took control, whilst Graham Drury failed to score at reserve.  With results elsewhere, the Dukes reached the end of June down to 5th place in the league.