1979 Miscellany

Four Team Tournaments:

The Dukes were drawn to ride in the first staging of the new Inter-League Four Team Competition against local rivals Hull and Sheffield, with National League Newcastle Diamonds added for good measure. It looked like the Dukes' hopes of winning the tie on aggregate and qualifying for finals day at Sheffield were over after the first leg at Hull - as the Vikings destroyed the rest, dropping only a single point. But Halifax made inroads into the 21 point deficit, beating Hull by 10 points in the home leg, and a further 8 points at Sheffield, to go into the final round at Newcastle only 3 points behind. Skipper Ian Cartwright scored a 12 point maximum in the home leg, aided by a spirited 10 points from Kenny Carter. And Dane Mike Lohmann was the star of the show at Sheffield with 11 points. But Hull made no mistake in the final leg at Newcastle, winning the leg to advance to finals day at Owlerton the following week. The Vikings came second in their semi final, behind Exeter, to advance to the final, but got their revenge to win the final from the Falcons, with Cradley Heath third.

The Dukes other 4TT for 1979 was the traditional end of season Daily Mirror-sponsored Northern Fours.

Details of individual matches can be found in the archive pages for 1979, but the summary of the Dukes' scorers in the 4TTs is below:

Frank Varey Northern Trophy:

The usual opening to the season saw the Dukes take part in the Northern Trophy, along with local rivals Sheffield, Hull and Belle Vue. An away win at Hull was cancelled out by a frustrating home defeat by Sheffield, as the Tigers took the trophy, courtesy of their win at The Shay, and an away draw at Hull on top of a perfect home record. Details of the Dukes' fixtures can be found in the archives for 1979. The final table is below:

Other Meetings During 1979:

A number of individual and non-Dukes events were held at The Shay during 1979, despite the bad early-season weather which forced numerous postponements and re-arranged fixtures:

6/5/1979 - World Championship Qualifying/Grand Prix Round (meeting 6) - As in previous seasons, each BL track held their own World Championship round, with British riders drawn into 3 rounds to score as many points as possible to qualify for the British Semi Finals. With all riders also fighting for GP Premium points, the round was won by Hull's Ivan Mauger - although there were good showings from the Dukes, particularly Ian Cartwright. Full details of heats and scorers can be found in the archive pages for May 1979.

2/6/1979 - The Dews Trophy (meeting 11) - The annual Dews Trophy was won in thrilling fashion by Dukes' skipper Ian Cartwright, who won heat 20 to seal victory. Full details can be found on the archive pages for June 1979.

21/7/1979 - National League Pairs Championship (meeting 18) - Whilst Halifax were in away action at Coventry, The Shay staged the annual NL Pairs Championship - the meeting was won by Milton Keynes, who defeated Ellesmere Port in the final. Milton Keynes' Bob Humphreys was unbeaten by an opponent, and combined with team-mate Andy Grahame to defeat first Newcastle in the semi finals, and then the fancied Gunners, represented by formed Dukes John Jackson and Steve Finch, in the final.

29/9/1979 - The Shaytona Trophy (meeting 29) - The brilliantly named Shaytona individual was won by skipper Ian Cartwright - details of the meeting can be found in the archive pages for September 1979.

14/10/1979 - England v Australasia (meeting 32) - The Shay hosted the 5th and final Test Match in October, following the original fixture being a victim of the weather in September. The Lions completed a 68-40 victory to seal a 5-0 series win. Full details can be found in the archive pages for October 1979.

The Berger Grand Prix:

As in recent years, the Berger Grand-Prix ran alongside the British World Championship qualifying rounds - Halifax staged their leg on 6/5/1979 (see above). The various Dukes riders records in the event are as follows:

Mike Lohmann - Halifax 10pts/5.5 GP pts. Lohmann was unable to take any further part in the competition due to other commitments.

Tormod Langli - Hull 8pts/3 GP pts, Wolverhampton 11pts/6 GP Pts, Leicester 6pts/0.5 GP Pts. Langli was unavailable to ride in the home leg at Halifax, and scoring only 9.5 GP points, failed to qualify for the final.

Mick McKeon - Halifax 7pts/2 GP Pts, Sheffield 6pts/0.5 GP Pts. McKeon only rode in 2 rounds.

Ian Cartwright - Halifax 14pts/9 GP Pts, Hull 9pts/6 GP Pts, Sheffield 8pts/3 GP Pts. Cartrwright failed to follow up on his superb second place at The Shay, his 18 GP points being insufficient to qualify for the final.

Both Klaus Lohmann and Mick Warren were called upon to race in the Halifax leg due to late withdrawals - Lohmann scored 3 points, Warren failed to score.

Kenny Carter - Halifax 9pts/4 GP Pts, Hull 12pts/8 GP Pts, Wolverhampton 14pts/10 GP Pts. Carter totalled 22 GP points, courtesy of his win in the Wolverhampton leg, and qualified for the final at Wimbledon on 233/8/1979. In the final, Carter scored a creditable 6 points to finish in 9th place overall (ahead of Ivan Mauger) - the title going to American Scott Autrey, from Bruce Penhall and John Davis.

The British Match-Race Championship - The "Golden Helmet."

Belle Vue's former World Champion had a tight grip on his Golden Helmet title during 1979, so hopes were high when Dukes' skipper Ian Cartwright was rewarded for his excellent season by being nominated the challenger for August. But Collins soundly defeated his opponent, beating Cartwright 2-0 at Hyde Road, before repeating the result 48 hours later at Halifax. In doing so, PC beat the existing Shay track record twice, reducing the time to 63.7 in the first race and then 63.6 in the deciding encounter.

The Juniors/Second-Half Riders: During 1979, the following riders took part in various junior matches for the Dukes and second half outings - those who rode for the main team are not included in this list, but will have their own biography in the riders archive - many thanks to:

Mick Warren, John Jones, John Wallington, Paul Greenaway, Lyndon Hayes, ? Fielding and Graham Stewart.