Heat by Heat Results - September 1982

Into September, and the first match of the Carter-captaincy era resulted in a heavy defeat at Birmingham. Despite Carter rattling off 4 straight wins, after a first heat loss to Nielsen, the Dukes had little to offer, with only John Louis making any impression. Wyer, Ashton and Tate failed to score a point, and both Baker and Cartwright suffered falls. The Dukes' only heat win of the night came in heat 12 when Louis beat Nielsen for his only defeat, and Cartwright edged out Dryml for third. Promoter Eric Boothroyd was by now considering his options for next season.

Halifax dropped another home point in controversial circumstances against Sheffield. In a close match, which the Dukes always seemed to just have control, the Tigers reserve Wayne Brown reeled off 3 wins in 4 heats, after previously failing to impress. The Dukes complained about the size of Brown's engine, but nothing suspicious was ever found. A Carter maximum, completed in heat 12 set up a last heat decider, in which Louis and Cartwright thought they had clinched a 4-2 to wind the match. But the referee awarded third place to Moran who caught Cartwright on the line, despite it appearing that the home rider got there first.

Halifax made the return visit to Sheffield and gave local youngster Kenny Young a chance. But it was another bad night for the Dukes. Carter suffered mechanical problems whilst leading a 3-man first heat, and pushed home for a point - giving Young second place. Doug Wyer showed glimpses of past form around Owlerton with a fighting 5 points from his first 2 outings - but then faded and failed to beat an opponent again. With Cartwright's run of poor form continuing, and another bad night for Louis, Halifax were never in the hunt. The score could have been worse had David Bargh not failed to start 2 races due to engine problems.

An open date in the calendar was filled by a pairs competition, made up largely of Halifax and Sheffield riders. A close contest was won eventually by Carter and his partner Eric Monaghan, mostly courtesy of Carter's maximum. 5 of the 6 pairs were covered by only 2 points, with only Louis and Ashton being off the pace. The Sheffield pair of Bargh and Brown would have won the title but for an engine failure for Bargh whilst leading the final race.

Earlier in the season, Halifax won a thriller at Hackney on their way to knocking the Hawks out of the cup. But that was with a full strength side - Janke scoring at reserve, a fully fit Carter, and with Louis and Cartwright looking sharp. This time was different. Although Carter only dropped a single point to Petersen, the rest failed to back the skipper up, with only Cartwright able to win a race. Louis, Baker and Ashton all received exclusions for falls as 5 straight heat advantages from heat 3 onwards took any hope Halifax had, and Hackney eased to their biggest win of the season.

Mats Olsson arrived in the UK at lunchtime, and made his debut for the Dukes in a comfortable win at home to Hackney. After scoring points in his first 2 rides, he brought The Shay house down with a win from the tapes in heat 9, albeit with a little help from Cartwright who blocked any efforts from Thomsen. Carter was surprisingly beaten by ex-Duke Titman in heat 6, but the Dukes top 3 were largely untouchable. The Hawks cause was not helped by Bo Petersen's mechanical problems - he had carburretor issues in his first 2 races and withdrew from the meeting.

Despite a brilliant 15 point maximum from Carter, the Dukes were destroyed by a rampant Aces side who now had the league title in their sights. The match was effectively over after heat 4, as Belle Vue eased to 3 straight 5-1s. Apart from Carter, only John Louis managed to beat a home rider all night, edging out Ravn in heat 9, and then managing to beat Ross and Ravn in heat 12. Otherwise it was one-way traffic as the Aces had the result sealed as early as heat 9.

Halifax responded to their Belle Vue humiliation by assisting the Aces in their title push by defeating a now Penhall-less Cradley Heath. An all-round Dukes performance, including the obligatory Carter maximum saw the home side grab the win, despite the efforts of Grahame and Gundersen for the visitors. Carter was backed up with 9 point hauls for both Louis and Cartwright, and with reserves Baker and Ashton both grabbing a heat win, the hosts had too much for the Heathens, now deposed at the top of the table, and who would fail to win away again for the rest of the season.