Heat by Heat Results - May 1978

The Dukes were on the verge of a shock result at Reading, when the rain ruined their chances.  With Eric Broadbelt missing, and Kenny Carter riding for Newcastle, the Dukes gave a debut to youngster Pete Wilson, but the remaining six Dukes were in the fight, with only Mitch Graham looking vulnerable.  But the rain, which had started before the start time, got steadily worse, and the track was probably unrideable before Pusey and Cartwright drew the scores level in heat 7.

The Dukes went down to a convincing defeat at Ipswich, with Billy Sanders and Tony Davey unbeaten for the Witches.  Mike Lohmann continued his fine form for Halifax with two wins in his paid 11 points, but with only Pusey and Cartwright offering limited support, the Dukes slipped further and further behind.  Mitch Graham and Klaus Lohmann failed to beat an opponent, whilst reserves McKeon and Carter struggled for points.  The Witches lost Colin Cook after a heavy first heat fall, but still had more than enough to see off the Dukes challenge.

Halifax comfortably saw off the challenge from the Hawks despite losing skipper Chris Pusey to a nasty heat 1 crash.  McNeil fell in front of Pusey, who clipped the Hackney rider's wheel and was thrown from his bike, landing heavily.  Keith White stopped in the re-run, leaving the Dukes to take a 5-0, and the lead grew to 11 points after 4 races.  The Lohmann brothers, Graham, McKeon and Cartwright all had good nights to offset the loss of Pusey, who was taken to hospital with hip and knee injuries.  The result moved the Dukes back to second in the table behind Coventry.

The Dukes were in the wars again as they went down to a 14 point loss at Poole.  Mike Lohmann fell awkwardly in heat 5, suffering a broken toe and sprained ankle, and his absence blunted the Dukes chances, with Mitch Graham and the returning Eric Broadbelt left to fight on their own.  But Broadbelt also crashed heavily in heat 12, and aggravated his recent bruised back, as the Pirates sealed the win, with Malcom Simmons unbeaten.

The Dukes week of injury woes continued with a defeat at Bristol on a track surface described as "dreadful."  Without Pusey and Lohmann, and with Broadbelt having painkilling injections to be able to ride, it was left to Ian Cartwright with a brilliant 14 points, and reserve Mick McKeon with 9 points after a first race fall, to keep the Dukes going.  Klaus Lohmann and Mitch Graham had nights to forget, whilst Halifax gave a debut to second-halfer Alan Stansfield, with Kenny Carter away with Newcastle.  The injury crisis worsened when Klaus Lohmann was stretchered from the track after a heavy crash in the second half.

The battered Dukes managed to field a full team, with the Lohmann brothers, Pusey and Broadbelt all taking to the track, but struggling for fitness.  Mike Lohmann was clearly unable to ride and withdrew after stopping twice, and it was left to the three fit Dukes, McKeon, Graham and Cartwright to see off the challenge from the Brummies.  Graham and Broadbelt saw the Dukes home in a last heat decider, after Cartwright and McKeon edged the hosts in front the heat before.  Chris Pusey pushed home for a point after stopping on the final lap of heat 6.

Eric Broadbelt overcame his recent injury problems by winning the combined Grand Prix/World Championship qualifier.  Broadbelt dropped his only point to Ian Cartwright, who finished a point behind in second after dropping points to Davey and Niemi.  Surprise packet Phil Collins of Ellesmere Port scored 11 points to finish 3rd, beating Davey and Malcolm Simmons on count-back.  Kenny Carter got a late call-up to replace Marek Cieslak, whilst Chris Pusey withdrew from the meeting after 2 races after aggravating his knee injury.

Halifax went down to an 18 point defeat at Leicester, unable to match the brilliance of ex-Duke Titman and Ila Teromaa.  Eric Broadbelt fought a lone battle to keep the Dukes in contention, but the Lions pulled away after heat 8, with the injury-hit Dukes struggled to compete.  Ian Cartwright blew his engine after crossing the line in heat 4 and withdrew from the meeting, whilst Chris Pusey had a meeting to forget.  The Lions included the recently signed Godal, plus guests Phil and Les Collins.

The Dukes took a rare away draw at Swindon, but were left to rue a lost opportunity for a win, as the Robins took a last heat 4-2.  Mike Lohmann ran a last in the decider, failing to get past Jan Andersson, which gave the Robins the draw, with Kilby completing his maximum.  Lohmann had otherwise got the Dukes into a winning position, dropping only 1 point before the decider, whilst Cartwright, Graham and McKeon also fought hard.  But Chris Pusey had another bad meeting, and the skipper's form was now starting to cause concern.

Mitch Graham's 10 point haul saw the Dukes see off the challenge from a powerful Cradley side, featuring previous Halifax target Bruce Penhall.  It was an all-round performance from the Dukes, with only Pusey not in contention.  Halifax overcame a slow start to pull 6 points clear after 7 races, and although the Heathens clawed the gap back through Penhall and the impressive Bastable, a 5-1 from Lohmann and Broadbelt in heat 10 finally saw off the Heathens.