The Dukes in the World Championship 1979

The 1979 World Speedway Championship will always be remembered for Ivan Mauger's record-breaking 6th title in Poland. As far as Halifax were concerned, Dukes' riders played very little part in the Championship trail - although there were signs of things to come in the future...

Steve Wilcock: Participated in the final preliminary round of the UK rounds at Boston - but with only the top 3 guaranteed to move on to the Grand Prix rounds, Wilcock's involvement ended when he could only score 4 points, including an engine failure.

Kenny Carter: Like Wilcock, Carter was drawn to ride at Boston - and similarly failed to qualify, despite scoring a creditable 10 points. Carter's involvement in the title chase appeared to be over - but a late call up to the Grand Prix round at The Shay re-opened the door. He scored 9 points, persuading the BSPA to include him in subsequent meetings. Carter took full advantage, by winning the round at Wolverhampton to reach the semi finals. He was drawn in the semi final at Leicester, but could only score 2 points.

Ian Cartwright: Solid scores in all 3 Grand Prix rounds saw the Dukes' skipper comfortably qualify for the British Semi Finals - and like Carter, Cartwright was drawn in the meeting at Leicester. But he fared little better than his team-mate, scoring only 6 points, to finish 10th - and was eliminated.

Merv Janke: Failed to qualify for the Australian Final.

Mick McKeon: After the success of the previous season, when he reached the Intercontinental Final, McKeon also failed to make his way through the Australian rounds.

Mike Lohmann: The Dukes' best bet for World Championship glory rested with Dane Lohmann - after his success with Denmark in the 1978 World Team Cup Final, Lohmann was expected to push on and go deep into the World Championships. He qualified for the Danish Final, and scored 12 points at Fjelsted to finish 3rd behind Bo Petersen and Finn Thomsen. A month later, however, he could only score 6 points in a tough Nordic Final in Sweden, to finish 10th. With only 5 going through to the next stage, it was the end of the road for Lohmann's - and the Dukes' - title hopes for 1979.