Heat by Heat Results - September 1974

Halifax went down to a 10 point defeat at Cradley after Graham Plant was forced to pull out of the meeting after wrecking his bike in a heavy heat 3 crash.  Without Plant, the Dukes were reliant on Boocock and France, but a 5-1 from Boulger and Price in heat 10 over Gatenby and Hiftle put the tie in Cradley's control.  John Jackson failed to score for the second match running, whilst Kroeze was ineffective, save for a heat win in heat 11.  Eric Boocock inflicted Boulger's only defeat in heat 1, but then ran a last in heat 12 as the hosts edged to the win.

Back in April, the Dukes managed a draw on their first trip to the Boulevard. Fast forward 5 months, the bruised Dukes were soundly beaten by 20 points, managing only 3 heat winners all night.  The result was confirmed as early as heat 9, with McMillan and Roper dominant for the Vikings.  With Drury and Jackson unavailable, the Dukes turned to Brian Havelock of Sunderland, who scored a surprise defeat of Bobby Beaton in heat 7. Halifax made the score look more respectable courtesy of 2 heat advantages from Boocock and Gatenby late on, but with Kroeze and Hiftle not beating an opponent, the Dukes had far too little to pose a threat.

Rick France took a superb victory in the Autumn Classic, recovering from a first heat dropped point to reel off 4 straight wins to take the trophy.  Phil Crump and Tony Davey were France's nearest challengers, and Crump's victory over Davey in heat 19 left France knowing a win in heat 20 would secure the title.  And France made no mistake, easing to the win from Eric Boocock, who failed to win a heat all night.  Mike Hiftle blew his engine in the pits before the meeting, and was replaced by Mick Newton.

Halifax were caught in the path of the Exeter surge to the league title, and fell to a 34 point mauling.  Exeter knew a win would mean they were virtually assured of the championship, and made no mistake with 10 straight heat wins.  Only late resistance from Boocock (with Gatenby and Hiftle) prevented a complete whitewash, as France and Plant failed to beat an opponent.  With Kroeze back in Holland for a compulsory return, the Dukes included juniors Peter Thompson and Andy Cusworth, who were predictably out of their depth, although Cusworth managed a second place ahead of Chris Julian in heat 8.

Eric Boothroyd accused some of the Dukes of a lack of effort following the Exeter debacle, and they responded by convincingly defeating King's Lynn.  Boocock was unbeaten, and with Plant and the returning Kroeze scoring big, the result was never in doubt.  Ian Cartwright was handed a debut at reserve, and he impressed with a fighting 7 points, scoring in all his races.  The only downside was the loss of France, who blew his engine in heat 7, and took no further part.  Malcolm Simmons carried the Stars hopes, with 3 late heat wins the only real bright spot for the visitors.  The win, along with other results, left Halifax 8th in the table, with only 4 matches remaining.

Halifax again slipped to a sound defeat on their travels, going down by 18 points in Suffolk.  Eric Boocock was unavailable due to a hospital appointment for his injured arm, and guest Barry Thomas failed to ignite the Dukes' challenge.  It was left to Mike Hiftle and Henny Kroeze to keep the Dukes fighting, with a 5-1 in heat 8, and then another from Kroeze and Thomas keeping things semi-respectable.  Rick France was still having bike problems, and Gatenby and Cartwright failed to make an impression, as Sanders and Louis completed easy maximums for the Witches.

Halifax defeated Hull in the first leg of the Yorkshire Cup in an entertaining match, with Rick France putting his recent mechanical problems behind him with a 12 point maximum.  Eric Boocock returned, but had an uncharacteristic fall in heat 6 and won only one race, whilst it was Gatenby's turn to have bike problems.  Mike Hiftle was impressive at reserve, and Ian Cartwright once again looked a prospect, scoring in each race for the second match in a row.