The Dukes in the World Championship 1978

The 1978 World Final - the Golden Jubilee - would return to it's iconic home of Wembley Stadium, but there was no easy passage for any of the British riders, with only 4 places up for grabs from a high-quality British Final at Coventry.  To reach that stage, the British riders had to go through the usual qualification system, but in a radical change, those rounds would now be incorporated with the Grand Prix competition - with the top 32 Brits going forward, but not necessarily having enough points to qualify for the Grand Prix final itself.  The UK rounds started in April and May, and various Dukes attempted the challenge of getting to the September final.  Their various exploits are outlined as follows:

Mitch Graham:  The Dukes new signing had to go through the UK preliminary rounds to enter the Grand Prix qualifiers - but drawn at Rye House, Graham could only score 7 points, and was out of the 5 qualifying places.

Kenny Carter:  The newly-signed youngster was not included in the World Championship draw, but got his first taste of the big time when asked to replace the injured Marek Cieslak in the Halifax Grand Prix round, scoring a creditable 6 points.

Chris Pusey:  The Dukes skipper was included in the Grand Prix rounds, but failed to progress to the Semi-Finals.  Scored only 3 points at Hull, followed by a poor 2 points at the Shay, subsequently not taking his final round, with qualification impossible.

Mike Lohmann:  Controversially, Lohmann made little progress in the 1978 World Championship.  Finishing in a fine 4th place in the Danish Final should have secured him a place in the Nordic Final, but the Danish authorities decided to seed Ole Olsen and Finn Thomsen, leaving only 2 other places available - and Lohmann was left on the outside looking in.

Klaus Lohmann:  Had the same issue as brother Mike - scored 6 points in the Danish Final to finish in 9th place, but with only the top two progressing, his chances were over.

Tom Godal:  Finished in the top three in the Norwegian Final, to qualify for the Nordic Final in Finland.  Godal tied for the final qualifying place for the Intercontinental Final with Jan Andersson, after both finished on 6 points, but lost to Andersson in a run-off.

Eric Broadbelt:  Successfully navigated his way through the Grand Prix rounds, scoring 9 points at Hull, winning the Halifax round with 14 points, and adding another 6 points in his final round.  Broadbelt was drawn at former track Poole for the Semi-Final, but could only score 2 points on his return to Dorset to finish 15th and was eliminated.

Ian Cartwright:  Like Broadbelt, Cartwright qualified for the British Semi-Finals, with 4 points at Reading and 8 points at Wolverhampton topped up with an excellent 13 points at Halifax.  Cartwright was drawn to ride at Sheffield, but could only muster 5 points, and failed to progress.

Mick McKeon:  The Aussie very nearly became a Dukes World Finalist, but fell agonisingly short at the final hurdle.  Negotiated his way through several qualifying rounds in late 1977 to reach the Australian Final where he scored 12 points to finish 3rd behind former Duke star John Titman.  And better was to come, as McKeon finished in second place behind Mitch Shirra in the tough Australasian Final, to qualify for the Intercontinental Final - just 5 races from Wembley.  That performance almost certainly convinced McKeon to return to Halifax for 1978, in preparation of the final hurdle in Denmark.  But McKeon was injured in the Dews Trophy in June, and the Intercontinental Final came too soon for him to regain full fitness, and in a high-quality field, McKeon could only manage 3 points (13th place), and his chances were gone.

The Wembley World Final saw Ole Olsen win his third and final crown, finishing on 13 points, one ahead of surprise packet Gordon Kennett, with American Scott Autrey defeating Dave Jessup and Jerzy Rembas in a run-off for third place.