MATCH REPORT: Manchester League Round 6

The Manchester League Grand Prix Series was concluded, when Bury staged Round 6, at a hot and sunny Goshen Sports Centre, on Wednesday evening.
In the Division 2 match, Bury started the evening holding a 1 point lead over Astley & Tyldesley. Despite A&T setting up a new all time record team score of 78 points from their top 5 scorers on the night, to draw level on match points, Bury scored enough race points to retain their lead over A&T. Therefore, Bury have won this year’s Manchester League Division 2 title, ending A&T’s six years run of wins in the league. A&T’s Oscar Belt, Duncan Whalley, Charlie Burgess and Matt Snell all raced unbeaten in the u-10, u-13, u-16 and u-19 categories respectively, with the 5th top scorer Levi Edwards, losing only to Oscar Belt in the u-10 match. The Individual Grand Prix Series winners were all decided, with trophies awarded to the following winners, who raced in at least 50% of the matches in the series: Bobby Dunphy (Bury) u-10; Tom Dunphy (Bury) u-13; Charlie Burgess (A&T) u-16.

Manchester League Division 2 result (top 5 scorers only count to team totals)

Astley & Tyldesley 78 Bury 51

U-10s: Oscar Belt (A&T) 16, Levi Edwards (A&T) 14, Bobby Dunphy (Bury) 14, Alex Lees (Bury) 9, Harry Dunford (Bury) 9, Alex Lawless (A&T) 8, Charlie Dunford (Bury) 6.

U-13s: Duncan Whalley (A&T) 16, Tom Dunphy (Bury) 13, Harriet Belt (A&T) 10.

U-16s: Charlie Burgess (A&T) 16.

U-19s: Matt Snell (A&T) 16.

Referee – Kaysar Mohammadi.

Final Div. 2 table

Bury – 8 League points (321 race points)
Astley & Tyldesley – 8 League points (299 race points)

The roles were reversed in the Division 1 match that followed. Bury took the team win on the night, but league leaders Astley & Tyldesley’s second place on the night was more than enough to secure the team title, finishing two match points ahead of Bury. So, Astley & Tyldesley have retained the Division 1 title that they won in 2019. Three riders were joint top scorers in the Senior match, with Bury’s Eryk Motala and Stockport’s Terry Norman losing once to each other, whilst Bury’s Kris Ramsden lost only to Motala in heat 8. The Individual Grand Prix Series winners were decided, with trophies awarded to Terry Norman, for winning both the Senior and Veterans series, after racing in at least 50% of the matches.

Manchester League Division 1 result

Bury 57 Astley & Tyldesley 28 Stockport 23

Seniors: Kris Ramsden (Bury) 15, Eryk Motala (Bury) 15, Terry Norman (Stockport) 15, Steve Harris (A&T) 13, Kaysar Mohammadi (Bury) 10, Rob Lees (Bury) 9, Matt Snell (A&T) 9, Ben Higham (Stockport) 8, Mark Radford (Bury) 8, Duncan Whalley (A&T) 6.

Referee – Mike Hack.

Final Div. 1 table

Astley & Tyldesley – 13 League points (196 race points)
Bury – 11 League points (203 race points)
Stockport – 7 League points (106 race points)

The Manchester League Individual Championships will take place on Wednesday evenings in August. First up will be the u-10, u-16 and Veterans Championships at Astley & Tyldesley on Wednesday 4th August, 7 pm start.