The Dukes in the World Championship 1985

As the 1984 season ended, the news broke that England would once again host the World Final. The 1981 Final at Wembley - arguably the greatest final of all - brought the curtain down on speedway under the Twin Towers, and the lack of a suitable replacement venue hung as a threat over British speedway, as the final was allocated to the USA and Germany, with a 1984 return possible, if a suitable venue could be found. But nothing was found, and 1984 went to Gothenburg in Sweden. London's White City seemed to be the new flagship stadium in the capital, but was unpopular with riders and supporters alike, and doubts existed over it's continuance - which came to bear when the stadium was closed in 1984. The resurrection of Odsal Stadium, Bradford, emerged as a chance for speedway to once again hold it's premier occasion in the UK - and on the proviso that the venue would be ready in time, the FIM allocated four keys fixtures to Bradford for 1985 - a World Team Cup round, the World Pairs Semi Final, the Overseas Final - and the World Individual Final at the end of August. If ever there was an incentive for a British (or Halifax) rider to make it all the way, then 1985 was the year...

Kurt Hansen: Focussed on the European Under-21 qualifying rounds, and made it through to the final in Abensberg, West Germany, where he came a respectable 9th on 8 points - behind the Swedish pair of future World Champion Per Jonsson and future Bradford Duke Jimmy Nilsen.

Larry Ross: Due to internal disputes in New Zealand, no national final was held, the authorities instead deciding to seed a sole David Bargh directly to the Overseas Final.

Rod Hunter: Whilst Hunter was in negotiations to sign for the Dukes, he came second in the Victorian Final on 14 points, behind Phil Crump. In the Australian Final, Hunter finished 8th on 8 points behind winner Billy Sanders and Crump - both of whom qualified for Odsal. Following Sanders' death in April, his place was taken by third place Stan Bear.

Eric Monaghan: Competed in the British Qualifying Round at Edinburgh, scoring 10 points to finish in 5th place - but with only the top 3 going through, it was the end of the road.

Sean Willmott: As one of the top 24 averaged English riders, Willmott was seeded directly to the British Semi Final - at Halifax. Unfortunately, Willmott was struggling with mechanical issues in the early part of the season, and could only finish 10th on 7 points, with the top 8 qualifying for the final.

Neil Evitts: Also rode in the Halifax Semi-Final, finishing 5th on 9 points, and qualifying for a second consecutive British Final. At Coventry, Evitts could only manage 6 points however, to finish 10th, and was eliminated. Fast-forward to 1986 however, and it would be a different story...

Kenny Carter: No-one could have been more determined to reach a World Final on his own doorstep, and Carter set about the task in typical fashion. The Semi Final at The Shay was won after a run-off with John Davis. The British Final 12 months earlier had been acrimonious and controversial, but there was none of that in 1985 - just one similarity - Carter stormed to victory to retain his title with a 15 point maximum. On to Odsal for the Overseas Final, and Carter came second to Shawn Moran after a run-off, after both had tied on 14 points. Just the final hurdle awaited - the Intercontinental Final at Vetlanda, Sweden. On 3rd August, Carter's dreams were wrecked in a heat 6 crash - having scored 2 points from his opening ride, Carter lost control on an appallingly wet track, crashed with Davis and Andy Smith and re-broke his right leg. Ironically, Carter was the expert pundit in the commentary box for the ITV coverage of the final four weeks later, as Erik Gundersen regained his crown in a dramatic run-off. Would Carter have taken the crown that afternoon? Would fate have conspired against him on the day? Would he have risen to the occasion to be able to beat Gundersen, Nielsen, Ermolenko, Niemi and Moran? We will never know...