Heat by Heat Results - October 1980

Into the final month of the season, and the Dukes travelled down the M62 to compete in the 1st leg of the Yorkshire Cup at Hull. Despite 11 point hauls from Mauger and Sigalos, Halifax kept things close, never letting the hosts pull more than 6 points clear, and that's how it finished. Westwell and Pyszny failed to score, but the remaining 5 Dukes all contributed well, Cartwright hitting an impressive 13 points. Carter failed to win a race until denying Sigalos his maximum in the final race, but crucially took 3 shared races with McKeon behind Mauger, Beaton and Sigalos. All set up nicely for the return leg at The Shay...

Dukes led the Nielsen-less Wolves by 8 points when the lights went out on World Final night - but with the Dane back in the side for the re-staging, it proved the difference - he was unbeaten by a Duke, and the hosts won by 6. This was the second match in a double header - Wolves having seen off Poole Pirates by 10 points (with Nielsen also netting a full score), and the Wolves riders were sharper in the early stages, edging to a 6 point lead. Carter, Cartwright and Pyszny reduced the deficit to 4 points after 8 races, but they could not close the gap further. A bad night for Janke and Pendlebury though, who could only manage a single point between them.

The Dukes stayed in the Midlands for the away trip to Cradley Heath, and were unlucky to not come away with the league points, going down by 2. Halifax led by 4 points early on, and it was only in the last 4 races that the home side finally took control, the 5-1 from Penhall and Alan Grahame in heat 10 proving the difference. The Dukes tactic of filling in the minor places seemed to be paying dividends, but in the end, the lack of heat winners cost the visitors, with Carter's 3 wins in the first 5 races all they had to show. Pyszny weighed in well with 9 points from reserve, but in the end the home side scraped home, Phil Collins completing his maximum in heat 13.

The final league match of the season saw Halifax entertain Cradley in the return match the following Sunday evening - this time it was the Dukes who won 40-38, although the match was over before the final heat. The Dukes led throughout, from the moment Carter raced away from Penhall in heat 1, and they maintained their advantage culminating in a Carter/Janke 4-2 in heat 12 which sealed victory - and Carter's maximum. For the visitors, Phil Collins and Alan Grahame were always in the thick of the action, and Penhall was unbeaten after failing to score in heat 1, but the rest offered little. Young Dane, Erik Gundersen won heat 7, but ran 2 last places, and was withdrawn from his final outing. The match took place in difficult conditions, with a greasy track following persistent drizzle.

The Dukes comfortably took the Yorkshire Cup, overturning the 6 point deficit from earlier in the month, to win by 12. Their 18 point victory on the night was an all-round team effort, with the top 6 Dukes all scoring at least 6 points. Only Les Sawyer failed to get in on the action. The star of the night however was Hull's American Dennis Sigalos, who proved his world-class with a battling 14 points, only headed by McKeon in heat 8. Sigalos aside, the Vikings offered little else, failing to provide a further heat winner, whilst the Dukes rattled up 7 heat advantages.

The Dukes finished the season by participating in three separate 4TTs, the first being Hull's version of the Northern Fours. With McKeon on his way back to Australia, the Dukes sent their 4 strongest remaining riders, and were comfortable winners, 5 ahead of Sheffield, with the hosts and Newcastle a further 3 points back. Carter led the way, scoring 11, his only defeat coming to John Cook in heat 11. He received excellent support from Pyszny, who defeated former Hull rider Moran, and current Hull favourite Owen in his 8 point tally. Halifax led throughout, winning 5 and drawing the remaining 3 of the heats they were involved in.

The end of season fireworks display signalled the end of proceedings at The Shay for 1980 following the Daily Mirror sponsored Northern Fours. With Belle Vue having to compete in a re-arranged fixture at Swindon, Newcastle provided the opposition, along with Sheffield and Hull. The night proved to be a comfortable win for Halifax, who did not provide a last place finish in the whole meeting. Carter went through the card to complete an excellent season, and was well backed up by Janke, Cartwright and Pyszny. Pendlebury guested for Hull in place of Sigalos, and impressed with 10 points, while former Duke John Titman scored well for Sheffield.

The final action of the season for the Dukes saw them travel to National League Ellesmere Port along with Belle Vue and Cradley Heath in the Ernie Park Memorial Trophy. In a close contest, with only 8 points covering all 4 teams, the Dukes managed a creditable 25 points, to finish 2nd, 3 behind Cradley. Carter won his first 2 outings, before an engine failure and a defeat by Alan Grahame in the deciding last race. Cartwright also scored points, and with Janke and Pyszny chipping in useful points, the Dukes ended 1980 with some cause for optimism.