Heat by Heat Results - June 1977

Without Plant, Lohmann and Kroeze, the Dukes were always going to struggle on any track, so an 18 point defeat at Hull as June began was no real shock.  Pusey and Cartwright were in damage-limitation mode, as the Vikings picked off the Duke's bottom four for easy points.  Graham Dawson was included at reserve, and managed to edge Auffret in the reserve race, but Finch, Godal and McKeon failed to beat an opponent all night.  The Vikings trio of Beaton, Drury and Graham scored enough to beat Halifax on their own.

A stronger Dukes side took advantage of the Bees being without star man Ole Olsen, stranded in Denmark due to flight problems.  Ian Cartwright and Chris Pusey were aided by guests Pendlebury and Graham, and with Tom Godal back in the side and scoring points from reserve, Halifax swept away their blunted opponents.  Alan Molyneux and Tommy Nilsson carried much of the threat for Coventry, whilst battler Mitch Shirra would have scored more but for engine issues.

If any meeting summed up the luck of the 1977 Dukes, this was it.  Down 28 points from the first leg at Reading, Halifax looked on course for a stunning recovery, but as the June rain got heavier, the referee had to call a halt, with just 11 point separating the teams.  Both Plant and Lohmann were back, and with no last places in the first 7 races, the Dukes were on fire.  Reading turned up without Bob Humphreys, and no reserve, and tracked Dukes second-halfer Michael Moores, but the Racers lived to fight another day... Henny Kroeze was absent again, this time for the World Pairs semi final in Pocking, West Germany, but he wasn't actually missed.

The previous week, Dave Jessup failed to complete either race before the abandonment of the cup tie.  A week on, he stormed to a 15 point maximum to take a dominant win in the 1977 Dews Trophy.  The Dukes' Chris Pusey was a distant 3 points further back, and took second place after a run-off with Bobby Beaton and Billy Sanders.  Ian Cartwright and Graham Plant scored in each of their races, whilst Gordon Kennett - 13 points at the Shay only 3 weeks before - was unable to score a single point.

The Dukes' faltering season took another turn for the worse on the final weekend of June, as the Aces destroyed Halifax on their own track.  Chris Pusey was off the pace, whilst Mike Lohmann was still far from fit, and Graham Plant was either struggling with his own fitness, or machinery, or both!  The Aces usual trio of Collins, Morton and Wilkinson were not in charitable mood as Belle Vue took the points with room to spare.  Henny Kroeze was away again - this time for the Continental Final in the Soviet Union, only 5 rides away from the World Final - but bad news was filtering back from Togliati late in the evening...

With Graham Plant and Mike Lohmann back on the sidelines, and with Mick McKeon riding for Coatbridge, a make-shift Dukes were soundly beaten at Belle Vue, as the Aces completed a quick double. Chris Pusey won their sole race, teaming up with Finch for a rare 5-1 in heat 5, when Chris Morton ground to a halt, but apart from 8 points from 5 outings for Ian Cartwright, there was little else to cheer.  Guest Steve Bastable had bike problems, whilst both Geoff Pusey and Tom Godal made little impression.