The 1982 Season

1982 - the year of the Falklands War, the Football World Cup in Spain, and Fame and Boy George appearing on your TV screens. The British League reduced to 15 teams after the shock closure of Hull during the winter. After the team-building turmoil of 12 months earlier, the Dukes planning for 1982 was slightly easier. They were keen to keep the core of the 1981 side, and with Carter, Louis, Cartwright and Wyer all agreeing to sign on, the basis of a solid side was formed. The absentee for 1982 would turn out to be Craig Pendlebury, who was relocating to New Zealand and could not ultimately commit to a season in the UK. Fortunately, the Dukes were to be bolstered by the return of popular Aussie Merv Janke, who sat out the 1981 season after a frustrating time in 1980. At the bottom end of the side, Steve Baker was entrusted with one of the reserve berths, after a promising 81 season. The end of the Polish rider contract spelt trouble for a few teams, and meant that Piotr Pyszny was unable to return. Instead, attempts were made to sign promising youngster Martin Dixon from Middlesbrough, however he elected to remain in the National League for another season. The remaining place in the side was filled by Robbie Ashton, after some promising outings in 81, and a season gaining experience with Ellesmere Port in the 2nd division. Hopes were high...

The first half of the season went according to plan, although without anything spectacular. The Dukes were unbeaten at home in the League Cup campaign, dropping only a single home point to table-toppers Cradley Heath, and even grabbed a rare away win at Sheffield. But they failed to qualify for the final, finishing in mid-table, and moved onto attempts in the League and Cup. In the Cup, Hackney were dispatched after wins home and away, and the Dukes hit Wimbledon, King's Lynn and Leicester for 50+ points in their first 3 home league fixtures. The latter saw Merv Janke hit a superb 12 point maximum. The following week, things started to unravel...

The final of the Yorkshire Open Championship saw Janke tangle with Larry Ross, and he was taken to hospital with a broken wrist. Without Janke, Halifax crashed out of the cup to arch-rivals Belle Vue. The Dukes covered Janke's absence using number 8s Rob Tate and Martin Dixon, but before Janke could return, skipper Ian Cartwright, who enjoyed a successful testimonial meeting a week earlier, was brought down at Sheffield, in a crash which saw both himself and Ashton injured. And only days later, Carter was seriously injured in the Star of Anglia meeting at Ipswich, courtesy of an altercation with Preben Eriksen. Carter was now a doubt for the World Final in Los Angeles, which he had set his heart on winning...

Janke returned for the visit to The Shay of Reading, but incredibly, crashed in the first race and broke BOTH wrists! It was to be Janke's final encounter with the Dukes, the Aussie announcing he would not be returning at the end of the season.

Carter returned to the saddle in time for the World Final, but was denied his moment of triumph as a result of the infamous heat 14 clash with Penhall, who went on to retain his title, before announcing his retirement. Although Carter, and Cartwright, were now back, the Dukes seemed to lose heart the longer the season went on, amazingly winning only 5 matches in the final 3 months of the season. To cover the absence of Janke, promising Swede Mats Olsson was drafted in, but he failed to make much of an impression in half a dozen outings.

To cap a disappointing season, John Louis crashed in a challenge match at the end of October, breaking his left arm, his first such injury of his long career. Tired of the long commute between Suffolk and Yorkshire for every home meeting, Louis requested a transfer at the end of the season, eventually moving on to King's Lynn. Ian Cartwright, who had handed over the captaincy to Carter after a poor run of form in September, and criticism from fans and management alike, announced his retirement, to concentrate on the family business.

Doug Wyer again had an inconsistent time, failing to reach the heights of his scoring with Sheffield only 2 years earlier as mechanical gremlins and a lack of power continually frustrated him, but he was an ever-present, as were Baker and Ashton. The two Aussies were the bright spot in a long, hard season which promised much at the start, but ultimately failed to deliver. And Carter, now clearly England's number one, and arguably the best rider in the world in 1982, was left with little to show for his efforts - the retention of his BLRC title, and an average over the season exceeding 11 points was not what everyone was hoping for. Incredibly, Carter top-scored for the Dukes in 34 of their 38 League and Cup matches.

With Cartwright and Louis moving on, the Dukes would need some rebuilding as they moved into 1983, although with attendances down, Promoter Eric Boothroyd continually warned that finances would have to be balanced when the team was being considered going forward.

The heat details, scorers and reports for each meeting through the season can be found by clicking on the pages for each month.