Heat by Heat Results - July 1979

Into July, and with no Lohmann brothers, the Dukes brought in Reg WIlson to guest, and were boosted at the foot of the team by the return of Merv Janke after shoulder surgery. The match was a straightforward win over the Lions who, apart from former-Duke Titman, offered little threat. Wilson and Cartwright eased to full maximums, whilst Langli scored 8 points from his first 3 rides. A rare event in heat 5 as the referee declared a dead-heat between Mike Farrell and Steve Wilcock for third place - the last time this would occur in a fixture at The Shay.

Halifax made the long trip down to Devon, and had no answer to the brilliance of World number 3 Scott Autrey. The American was in blistering form as he powered to a 12 point maximum, broke the track record in the opening heat, and then equalled it again in heat 6. His winning times in heats 10 and 12 were also just narrowly slower than the previous record! The Dukes led briefly early on but slipped behind after 3 heat defeats in 3 races. It was left to Ian Cartwright and impressive guest Jimmy McMillan to keep things close, but the Dukes had too many last places to be a threat.

Just like at Exeter earlier in the week, the Dukes let an early lead disappear as the home side took advantage of their home track knowledge. The top 4 Witches were too powerful for Halifax, with Cartwright, Carter and Langli carrying the limited threat for the Dukes. Langli improved as the meeting wore on, whilst Carter and Cartwright faded as the Witches pulled away. The returning Lohmanns made little impact, with Mike managing a couple of second places, and Klaus managing only a single point.

The Dukes quarter final against Reading ended up a one-sided affair, as they rolled to one of their biggest victories ever. The Racers were missing the injured John Davis, and with no guests or rider replacement allowed under cup rules, had to use their own resources. Dukes junior Ian Westwell was called upon when Doug Underwood failed to arrive and the Dukes swept the opposition aside - with Carter and Cartwright unbeaten, and Mike Lohmann, McKeon and Langli all registering double figures. Bernie Leigh's win over Lohmann and McKeon in heat 11 was the only positive for the visitors, with the tie as good as over already.

A solid all-round team performance - and a small slice of luck - saw the Dukes register yet another away win! Remarkably, Halifax never trailed, edging in front in the reserve race, then through Carter and Langli in heat 7, and then again through the same pair in heat 10. Jessup and Smith reduced the gap to 2 points in heat 12 to set up a last race decider which most people in the stadium would have expected the Stars to edge. But Michael Lee inexplicably broke the tapes, giving the Dukes a chance to steal the points. Although Hellsen broke away in the decider, Carter and Lohmann blocked out reserve Rasmussen to seal the win.

After recent away successes, the Dukes were brought crashing down to earth at title chasing Coventry, although Ian Cartwright and Mike Lohmann kept them in the hunt. Halifax will have wondered what might have been, with Langli away on a return to Norway, Leicester's Mike Farrell was drafted in as a guest - but failed to score. Any chances the Dukes might have had ended in heat 11 when Lohmann was excluded for bringing fellow-Dane Knudsen down, and Olsen and Shirra won the final 2 heats to ensure victory for the Bees. It was a frustrating night for Carter and McKeon with Carter having a fall and a last place, and McKeon only managing to beat a down-on-power Guglielmi.

Halifax saw out July with a comfortable win over Swindon Robins, who were hampered by the non-arrival of heat leader Steve Gresham. The Dukes all contributed, with a Janke engine failure and a last for Langli in the final race the only down-points. Cartwright dropped his only point to the ever-impressive Phil Crump, but enacted his revenge by denying Crump his maximum in heat 13. And it was Crump who inflicted Mike Lohmann's only defeat, the Dane looking more like his former self after his self-imposed exile a month earlier. Gresham's absence was largely covered by reserve Rolf Gramstad, and the Norwegian impressed with 10 points from 6 outings.