Heat by Heat Results - September 1984

Halifax moved into September and welcomed back skipper Neil Evitts after injury. But the disappointing run of results continued as they slumped to home defeat to Sheffield in muddy conditions. Once again, Shawn Moran and Dave Morton were the cause of the Dukes' woes, although they were backed up by the Collins brothers. Evitts looked back to form, although clearly tired as the meeting wore on, and Halifax let a 6 point lead disappear, taking only 5 points from the last 4 races. Eric Monaghan, into the main team for September, was good value for 10 points, and Baker fought well for his points, but Halifax simply ran out of steam.

A 10 point defeat at Cradley might have appeared a positive result - but in reality, the home side could and should have won by more, and merely did enough. Halifax had little answer to new World Champion Gundersen, or Cross or Grahame, and it was left to guest Gary Guglielmi to keep the score respectable. The Aussie battled hard to score 13 points, including 3 heat wins. Baker and Wyer both failed to make much impression, and even reserves Finch and Hansen's points were at the expense of Steve Collins, who failed to score. Gundersen's maximum was spoiled by a last race tape exclusion.

The Dukes returned to winning ways with a hard-fought win over lowly Newcastle, and it was only a timely 5-1 from Evitts and Hansen in heat 11 which saw the Dukes finally break the Diamonds. The nerves were jangling when Joe Owen beat guest Larry Ross in heat 9 to close the gap to 2 points, when the Dukes had been in control from the start. Baker suffered a foot injury when he caught it under his footrest in heat 10, and Evitts saw his chances of a first maximum for Halifax disappear when he fell on the last bend whilst leading the final race.

The Dukes travelled to Suffolk on a rare Friday night fixture for the hosts - and were predictably destroyed by the Champions-elect. In damp and cold conditions, the Dukes suffered their heaviest defeat of the 80s, with the hosts winning the match as early as heat 8. Monaghan failed to arrive for the first race, although staged a mini revival with Evitts and guest Paul Woods late on. But Baker, Wyer and Finch all failed to score, and Hansen failed to beat an opponent as the Witches, with 3 maximums, and 6 of their 7 riders scoring at least as many as the Dukes top scorer, ploughed on towards the league title. Evitts replaced Hansen in heat 9 - but then touched the tapes - to be then replaced by Hansen!

The end of the season was still a month away, but now couldn't come sooner, as the Dukes were heavily beaten on their travels for the second time in a week. Halifax failed to have a race winner or heat advantage all night, their only "successes" being a pair of shared races in heats 7 and 9. Only Evitts offered any spirit with 4 solid second places, although he was excluded for a tapes infringement in heat 9. Guest Rod Hunter withdrew from the meeting after 2 races, leaving Halifax with nothing left. Nielsen eased to a maximum for the Cheetahs, although he lost the Golden Helmet to Erik Gundersen before the match.

The Ipswich juggernaut rolled into Halifax following the previous week's rain - the delay of a week only prolonging the inevitable. Remarkably, the Dukes edged into a 5-1 lead through Monaghan and Baker - but then the onslaught began, and Halifax failed to win another heat all night. On a big track, quite opposed to their home track, and in heavy conditions, this should have given Ipswich a problem - but Doncaster, Cook, the ever-impressive Sanders, and fast-starting reserve Blackbird dismissed any home advantage the Dukes might have had. Once again, Finch and Hansen were called out by Eric Boothroyd, with Wyer also coming in for criticism. It was promised that changes would be made - for 1985, but maybe even sooner...