The Dukes in the World Championship 1977

The 1977 World Championship trail transpired to be very unkind to the Dukes, as their team form and fortunes transferred to individual failures.  The British rounds were now firmly established - 4 Preliminary rounds, followed by 4 Quarter Finals, 2 Semi Finals all leading to the British Final at Coventry.  Only 5 places were available for the White City Intercontinental Final, with only 7 from that hurdle going onto Gothenburg for the big night.  Several Dukes set off in the hope of unlikely glory, their various journeys are as follows:

Mick McKeon:  McKeon was still a Coatbridge asset back in February when he competed in the Australian Final, and his 2 points (14th) saw him fail to progress to the Australasian Final.

Ian Cartwright:  Was drawn to compete in the Preliminary round at Newport at the start of May, but having just returned to the saddle following his "retirement" the previous Autumn, Cartwright chose not to take his place.

Geoff Pusey:  Took his place in the Oxford Preliminary round, but scored only 1 point, finishing 14th.

Graham Dawson:  Was drawn in the Preliminary round at Rye House, and scored a creditable 5 points, but failed to make the cut.

Tom Godal:  The Dukes' new Norwegian signing finished 6th in the Norwegian final in April - not enough to progress.  However Godal got a reprise due to injuries and lined up in the Nordic Final at Tampere, Finland at the end of May.  Finished 6th again, on 10 points, but with only 4 riders progressing to the Intercontinental Final in London, his race was run.

Mike Lohmann:  Qualified for the Danish Final, and had a decent chance to qualify for the Nordic Final - but broke his collar bone at Coatbridge whilst riding for the Dukes, and was unable to take his place at Fredericia.

Steve Finch:  Qualified from the Oxford Preliminary round with an excellent 10 points (5th place) and must have been hopeful of progressing further when drawn in the Halifax Quarter Final.  But Finch could only finish 10th (6 points) and was eliminated.  Subsequently got another chance, when injuries to others opened up a place in the Birmingham Semi Final - but could only score 1 point (15th) and this time there was no second chance.

Graham Plant:  Drawn in the Halifax round, Plant could only score 7 points, and finished in 9th place, 1 above Finch.  Like Finch, was given a second chance due to injuries, but suffering from his own dislocated shoulder, did not travel to Poole for the Semi Final, and was eliminated again.

Chris Pusey:  After his efforts in the previous 2 years, Pusey must have been hopeful of finally getting beyond the British Final.  But in a tough Semi FInal at Birmingham, the Dukes' skipper could only score 8 points, and finished 11th, and well out of the reckoning.  It would be the first time since the Dukes joined the newly formed British League in 1965 that they didn't have a representative in the British Final.

Henny Kroeze:  The Dukes best hopes of World Final representation surely rested with their Dutch star, and Kroeze gave hope with progression through a tough Continental Quarter Final in Bremen (12 points, 4th place), followed by 7th place (9 points) at Norden in the Semi Final.  Kroeze was now only 5 races away from Gothenburg, but his chances - and his season - ended with a heavy crash in his 3rd race in the Continental Final at Togliati in the Soviet Union.  Having only scored 2 points from his opening 2 races, qualification was unlikely, but Kroeze had missed his chance.

In dreadful conditions in Gothenburg, Ivan Mauger scooped his fifth and record-equalling World Championship in September, as he defeated outgoing champion Peter Collins by a point.  Collins was injured at Belle Vue two weeks before the final when his leg was struck by a loose drain cover, and Collins lined up in Sweden far from fit.  Ole Olsen defeated teenage sensation and new British Champion Michael Lee in a run-off for third place.