Heat by Heat Results - October 1974

The Dukes defeated Coventry in yet another last heat decider at the Shay.  Unlike previous seasons, the fixture became less about the battle of the Boocock brothers, with Graham Plant leading Halifax to the victory, Rick France bouncing back after another engine failure, and Ian Cartwright registering his first win as a Duke.  A shock 5-1 for Ray Wilson and John Harrhy levelled the scores with a heat to go, and Nigel Boocock was excluded following a fall in the decider, leaving France and Plant to seal the win, with ex-Duke Jay unable to prevent France taking the flag.

The final home league action of the season saw Halifax comfortably defeat Swindon, despite the efforts of the unbeaten Martin Ashby. Every one of the Dukes played their part, with Kroeze and Gatenby back in the points, and with solid contributions again from Hiftle and Cartwright at reserve.  But the victory was founded on the heat-leader trio of Boocock, France and Plant, who scored paid 29 points between them.  Ashby received support from the dogged Stangeland, but little else, as the Robins failed to mount a challenge. The result nudged the Dukes up to 7th in the league table.

Halifax got their hands on some silverware as a reward for a long, bruising season, as they won at Hull to take the Yorkshire Cup.  And it was a last heat decider which went in their favour, as Dave Gatenby and Eric Boocock sealed the win after Beaton was excluded for unfair riding first time around.  Gatenby, Plant and Kroeze all impressed, along with Ian Cartwright who won the reserve race and picked up some vital third places later in the meeting.

Second division Teesside invited the Dukes, plus Leicester and Hull to Middlesbrough for a 4-team tournament, and amazingly defeated their more senior rivals. Halifax were the best of the rest, finishing 5 points behind the hosts, with Boocock and Gatenby leading from the front.  Graham Plant had a heat win, but Henny Kroeze struggled on another new track.

Halifax failed to improve on their 7th place in the league, going down to a heavy defeat at Belle Vue, in a typical end of season performance.  France, Plant and Kroeze tried their hardest to keep the scores respectable, but had no answer to the home form of Sjosten, Wilkinson and Collins, the latter only denied a maximum by a first race tapes offence.  The Dukes were hampered by the withdrawal of Eric Boocock, who was struck in the face by a stone in his opening ride - and as it turned out, that was the last the Dukes' supporters would see of their icon.