Heat by Heat Results - March 1974

Halifax went down to a 10 point defeat at Belle Vue in their opening Northern Trophy encounter after a spirited display in Manchester.  Aces reserve Ian Hindle amazingly won all three of the first three heats, twice coming in after tapes offences, but the Dukes tried to keep the scores close by filling the minor places, and heat wins for Plant and Boocock, keeping them 2 points behind after 7 races.  But the triple Aces threat of Collins, Wilkinson and Sjosten then took control as the Aces eased away, with a 4-2 from France and Drury, after Paul Tyrer broke down, the only positive in the last few races.

The Dukes went down to a strong Sheffield side, with early season rustiness affecting the visitors.  Both France and Hiftle were excluded for tapes offences, and Drury and Kroeze struggled on the fast Owlerton track, both hitting the deck during their 3 outings.  Skipper Eric Boocock won the reserve race, but was clearly not back to full ability, losing out to Wyer, Wilson and Valentine (twice) during a 5 ride spell.  Rick France faded after a bright start, whilst Dave Gatenby blew a brand new engine to pieces as he crossed the line in heat 3.

The Dukes got their home campaign underway with a thumping win over the Poole Pirates to get the fans thinking of what might lay ahead.  This was a clinical, rather than spectacular performance, with team riding evident in several races, as Halifax hit home six 5-1s, sharing the honours around.  Boocock was unbeaten in his 3 outings, whilst Mike Hiftle dropped his only point to Broadbelt in heat 12.  Every one of the Dukes managed a heat win, with Kroeze looking sharp in heat 8 particularly, to defeat tactical substitute Smith.