MATCH REPORT: A&T Open Pairs
Astley & Tyldesley hosted an Open Pairs event at Gin Pit on Sunday. The initial intention was to host a Fours match, but with Bury being the only visiting club to accept the invitation, the match was changed to a Pairs event. The A&T and Bury riders were switched to provide three mixed pairs, along with two family pairs. There were welcome returns by Joel Partington, for A&T, after an eight years absence focusing on track racing, and by the Mohammadi brothers, for Bury, after Kaysar’s first year at Plymouth University.
The 10 heats formula was repeated, with gate positions reversed in the second half, to provide a most enjoyable and sporting afternoon of racing, without the pressures of official competition. The Joel Partington and Danny Taylor pairing took the overall win, on 45 points. Joel was the match top scorer, with 26 points, plus 2 bonus, from 8 races, with Danny providing excellent team cover. Joel also recorded the fastest time of the day, 43.81 seconds, in heat 9. Kaysar Mohammadi impressed with some fast gates, along with Kris Ramsden and Harry Radford, who scored well after an exclusion in heat 2 for bringing down Joel Partington.
A&T Open Pairs result
1st – Joel Partington 26 (2) and Danny Taylor 19 (4) = 45.
2nd – Kris Ramsden 25 (2) and Duncan Whalley 16 = 41.
3rd – Steve Harris 21 (2) and Eryk Motala 19 (4) = 40.
4th – Harry Radford 23 (2) and Mark Radford 15 (1) = 38.
5th – Kaysar Mohammadi 25 (1) and Dawar Mohammadi 10 = 35.
Referee – Mike Hack.
The match was preceded by an enjoyable practice session for seven A&T juniors, with a mix of scratch and handicap races, time trials and flying laps.