Heat by Heat Results - July 1984
July started with the Dukes slipping to a frustrating home defeat to Belle Vue - who registered their 8th win in a row, despite the absence of Collins and Morton, away on WTC duty with England. Steve Baker and Neil Evitts were both superb - but lacked any support, with guest Campbell running 3 last places in his 4 points - compared to his 12 points at The Shay only 2 weeks earlier. Steve Finch was again struggling, failing to beat a visitor all night. The Aces guests Crump and Shirra proved adequate replacements, only an engine failure robbing Crump of a maximum, but it was an all-round team effort that saw the Aces clinch the win.
The Dukes' scheduled away fixture at King's Lynn on 14/7/1984 was postponed due to rain. The following afternoon, Kenny Carter successfully negotiated the Overseas final stage of the World Championship at Belle Vue - scoring 8 points, to go through as one of the 10 qualifiers, in what turned out to be a bad day for the English riders... Despite his efforts, Carter was being advised against a track return for the Dukes by doctors, who were warning him to keep his injured leg rested as much as possible...
A clever guest selection saw the Dukes register a rare away success - albeit a draw - at Poole. Former Pirate John Davis proved the hero, racing clear in the final heat decider to clinch the point, although Halifax will wonder what might have been if Baker hadn't touched the tapes. With Neil Evitts in good form, and Eric Monaghan weighing in with a useful 6 points at reserve, the Dukes were always in contention in a tight match. Former Duke John Louis guested for Poole in place of the recently banned former World Champion Michael Lee, and top scored, with reserve Middleditch also scoring an impressive 11 points.
On Friday 20th July, Kenny Carter's courageous attempt to reach a fourth successive World Final came to an end at Vojens, in the Intercontinental Final. Despite winning his first race, Carter could only manage 6 points, and lost a run-off with Alan Grahame to be reserve at the Final in Sweden. Attention now turned as to whether he would make a return to racing for the Dukes...
Halifax staged the 1984 Northern Riders Championship, and the Dukes' riders were joined by those from Sheffield, Newcastle and Belle Vue. it was a good day for the Collins family, as Peter, Les and Neil took 3 of the top 4 places - Peter Collins taking the win with a dominating 14 points. The 1976 World Champion was beaten into second place from gate 4 by home star Steve Baker, but then moved into a different class to win his remaining races, to finish a point above brother Les, who also won 4 heats, but crucially finished 3rd in his 4th outing behind his brother and Neil Evitts. Sheffield's Shawn Moran beat his team-mate Neil Collins in a run-off for 3rd place after both finished on 11 points. Baker and Evitts both scored in every heat to finish on 9 points each, but the remaining Dukes, Finch, Hansen and Monaghan all struggled.
The Dukes' trip to Owlerton started off well, but deteriorated rapidly, as their injury jinx struck again. Shawn Moran had bike problems before the start of heat 1, a legacy from his defeat to Hans Nielsen in the Golden Helmet, and Baker and Evitts took full advantage. The Tigers soon fought back however, and led by 2 going into heat 6. Evitts lost control on the first bend and brought down Parr, the latter receiving a broken ankle. Evitts was badly shaken and had also wrecked his best bike. Baker managed Halifax's only 3 heat wins - but came last in his other 3 races! Neil Collins was unbeaten for the Tigers. Dukes' guest Larry Ross had a difficult night, touching the tapes and then failing to finish in his next ride.
The Dukes saw out July with a home draw in a thriller against Cradley. With Evitts and Hansen away at the European Under-21 Final at King's Lynn, the Dukes needed 2 guests - Rod Hunter and Malcolm Simmons - and both gave their all to help Halifax seal a point, with Simmons and team-mate Monaghan edging the Dukes in front as they both passed Cross in heat 11. Baker - promoted to number 1 and captain, produced the ride of his life to re-pass Gundersen in heat 12, to set up a frantic last heat decider. In the final heat, Alan Grahame, who had struggled earlier on, made the start, and Lance King squeezed past Hunter on the second lap to clinch the draw.
Whilst the Dukes were drawing at home to Cradley, Neil Evitts (and Kurt Hansen as reserve) were on duty at the European Under 21 Final at King's Lynn. Already less than 100% fit following his Sheffield crash, Evitts chances were dealt a further blow in his first outing when he was brought down by Andy Smith, and broke bones in his hand. Despite his injuries, Evitts rode on, and won a run-off for second place against American Steve Lucero and Sweden's Hans Wahlstroem. The meeting, won by England and Oxford star Marvyn Cox, was marred however by the accident in heat 13 which resulted in the death of Swede Leif Wahlmann.
Notes: Yellow box/number indicates home match/programme number. Score highlighted in Gold indicates full maximum. Score highlighted in Silver indicates a paid maximum.