Heat by Heat Results - May 1983

Not even a perfect score from Carter could inspire the Dukes at King's Lynn on Bank Holiday Monday. On a damp track, which got more treacherous as the meeting wore on, Carter was in a different class to the rest, but received little back up. The home side were solid throughout, with all their top 5 either winning a heat or getting a paid win. Pendlebury won a 2-finisher reserve race, and Dixon won heat 12 despite doing nothing else beforehand. Steve Baker chipped in with three second places, but after an early lead, Halifax were left behind by the Stars who eased to a comfortable win.

A rare Friday night home meeting saw the Dukes finally meet Cradley Heath, a meeting which saw the return of Eric Boocock after a 9 year absence. Boocock filled the gap created by Famari's return to Italy for a World Championship round, however unsurprisingly he looked off the pace. Halifax stunned the powerful Heathens racing into a 10-2 lead, and held the lead throughout, holding their nerve in the latter stages when the Heathens closed the gap. Wigg and King closed the deficit to 2 points with 2 races left, and it was left to Doug Wyer to seal the win with his 3rd win of the night in the final race.

The Dukes final away League Cup tie resulted in another defeat, this time at Birmingham, in the match re-arranged from April. The Brummies simply had too much strength in depth, with their top 4 scoring paid 40 points between them. Unsurprisingly, Carter was the only visitor to trouble the home side, although Martin Dixon tried hard for his 8 points. A disastrous run of heat defeats from the 6th race onwards took any chance the Dukes had after keeping it tight for the first 5 heats. Halifax slumped to defeat, providing the last place in 10 of the 13 heats.

The Dukes hung on to beat Leicester after the visitors reduced an 8 point deficit to only 2 with just 3 heats remaining. But with World number 2 Les Collins having an off-night, and Finn Jensen pulling out of the meeting with a pre-existing injury, the Lions ran out of steam. Carter took 3 wins for the Dukes, but his clutch came apart whilst chasing Courtney in heat 10. Wyer and Baker were also solid for Halifax, but Eric Boocock's comeback continued to prove frustrating, clutch problems of his own preventing him from making a good start each time.

The less said about the Dukes visit to the South Coast, the better. Halifax were completely destroyed by the Pirates, giving up seven 5-1s and three 4-2s plus 3 shared heats. The Dukes were effectively a 2-man team, with only Carter and Baker providing any resistance. Carter was down on power again, and took only a single win in heat 8 - but also took a tumble in heat 11. None of the other 5 Dukes managed to beat a home rider all night as the Pirates won at will. The only surprising thing was that Kevin Smith was the only home rider to claim a maximum.

The Dukes bounced back from their mauling at Poole to comfortably beat King's Lynn at The Shay. Carter was back to his best, and was strongly backed by Wyer, Dixon, Finch and Baker. Boocock was more in touch than previously, but still could not get among the points. Famari, still not fully fit, was further in the wars when he reared and hit the fence in heat 10. Former Duke John Louis provided the main threat for the visitors, but apart from a win over Baker and Finch in heat 5, was powerless to stop the Dukes claiming both league points.

The Dukes hung on to beat Hackney on a muddy track, after the visitors threatened to take the win. Halifax were struggling to build any kind of lead over the Hawks, and it was down to reserve replacement Pendlebury to score vital points in heats 8 and 11 to swing the match in the Dukes' favour. A 5-1 from Carter and Finch in heat 12 pulled the Dukes away to safety, and probably made the victory look more comfortable than it was. Famari struggled again, having engine problems, and Boocock failed to score again...

Another frustrating and disappointing away performance for the Dukes saw Swindon record their biggest win of the season to date. Carter looked unbeatable, but then was defeated by Weymouth loanee Martin Yeates when used as a tactical substitution in heat 8. Steve Baker had an extraordinary night, scoring 5 points from 2 starts, but being excluded 3 times! But still no points for Boocock or Famari, who took 6 rides between them for no reward. For the Robins, Phil Crump led from the front as usual, and reserve Malcolm Holloway won 3 races in his 11 points. The Robins only won 6 matches all season, and would finish bottom of the table!