1975 Miscellany

Other Fixtures:  

In addition to a full league programme and extended runs in both cup campaigns, the Dukes were involved in nine challenge matches during 1975, the first 6 in the Northern Trophy early in the season.  Three wins and three losses, with a win at Hull offset by the home defeat to Belle Vue, saw the Dukes finish on 6 points, finishing in third place on points behind the Aces and Sheffield.  Belle Vue were defeated 40-38 in the £100 Challenge match over the August bank holiday weekend, whilst Halifax retained the Yorkshire Cup with a home win and away draw against Hull during September.

After their success at Eastbourne, the Dukes were invited back to Sussex for a 4-Team Tournament in September, against the Eagles, Oxford and Leicester, but an injury-ravaged Dukes could only send Henny Kroeze and Ian Cartwright, borrowing 2 riders from the hosts.  

For the first time since speedway returned to the Shay, the venue was not chosen to host an international fixture.  The originally planned England v Sweden test match was moved to another venue, and talk of an England v Australasia series never developed. And due to rain offs and the extended cup fixtures, there was no opportunity to host any additional pairs or 4-Team tournaments at the Shay as in previous seasons.

Details of each match can be found in the archive pages for 1975.

Individual Meetings:  

The Shay staged 4 individual meetings during 1975, full details of heats and scores available in the archives.  New Duke Chris Pusey settled into his new home by winning the World Championship qualifying round in May, although his road to Wembley would fall 1 point short in the British Final.  Phil Crump, mounted on the revolutionary new 4-valve overhead cam engine, dominated the Dews Trophy with a maximum in June.  And the Dukes own Charlie Monk, himself using new machinery, won the Northern Riders Championship round and the Shaytona during the summer.  But the end of season Autumn Classic was rained off at the start of October, and with a backlog of fixtures, the meeting was not re-arranged.  Details of each match can be found in the archive pages for 1975.

The Juniors/Second-Half Riders:  

The second half opportunities were limited during the first part of 1975, with the reserve race restricted to the Dukes not racing that night - so the races usually comprised of Eddie Argall, Mick Newton, Ian Cartwright, Steve Finch, Mike Hiftle, Dave Gatenby, Andy Cusworth and John Jackson - with everyone except Argall getting a place in the Dukes starting line-up at various stages of the season, as the injuries mounted up.

From July, the Junior Scurry event was introduced as a second half race, and saw a new crop of talent having a go at the Shay - many thanks to:  Phil Ball, Jim Fryer, Robin Earle, S Roe, I Armstrong, Mick Rhodes, Les Race, Terry Oldham, Paul Wallace, Jim O'Connor and Phil Greenwood.

Golden Helmet Match-Race Championship:

No Dukes were nominated to challenge for the Golden Helmet during 1975, as Phil Crump, Ole Olsen, Dave Jessup and John Louis all held the title during the season, before Swindon's Martin Ashby defeated Louis at the end of the season to take the title into 1976.