MATCH REPORT: Manchester League Senior Individual Final

Report and photo by Mike Hack

The Manchester League season wrapped up for another year with the Senior Individual Final staging, under the Goshen floodlights, at Bury, on Wednesday evening. An excellent race meeting took place, with keenly fought races throughout.

Home favourites Danny Taylor and Kris Ramsden saw their chances of victory disappear early on. Taylor came last, off his grid 4, in a tough heat 1, before reeling off four successive wins to finish on 17 points. Ramsden picked up a gate exclusion, off his gate 4, in a strong heat 5 against the Astley & Tyldesley pair of Steve Harris and Reece Pollitt. He lost only to Taylor in his other four races, to finish on 15 points. Bury’s Kaysar Mohammadi held off Pollitt to win at the second running of heat 1, after trailing before the race was stopped at the first attempt. Pollitt gated over team mate Harris in heat 5, but the wily veteran pulled off a superb inside cut back on the second lap to take the race win. Mohammadi suffered his first defeat of the match, when beaten by team mate Ramsden in heat 8, before beating Stockport’s Terry Norman in heat 12, to move onto 15 points going into his last race. Harris lost to Taylor in heat 11, but kept up his challenge after chasing and then passing Bury’s Eryk Motala on the third lap in heat 14, to also move onto 15 points. The showdown came in heat 16, with Harris starting off gate 2, Mohammadi off gate 4, with A&T’s Joel Partington between them off grid 3. Mohammadi made one of his trademark lightning fast starts, but Harris just held him off on the first bend and kept him at bay for the entire four laps, to take the race win and the overall win on the night. This was a superb win on the night, by the 53 years old Steve Harris, the oldest rider in the field, who had to work really hard in all his five races.
Pollitt reeled off three wins, after his two early defeats, to finish on 18 points, and force a run off for 2nd place, with Mohammadi. The Bury rider won the toss for starting positions and went off grid 2. He led for two laps, before a superb switch by Pollitt saw him sweep past on the back straight, to take the race win and second place on the night.

The trophies were presented by the Manchester League Competitions Manager, Alan Taylor.

The manchester league Senior Individual top 3. Left to right: Kaysar Mohammadi (Bury), Steve Harris (A&T), Reece Pollitt (A&T)



Manchester League Individual Final result


Steve Harris (A&T) 19, Reece Pollitt (A&T) 18, Kaysar Mohammadi (Bury) 18, Danny Taylor (Bury) 17, Eryk Motala (Bury) 15, Kris Ramsden (Bury) 15, Terry Norman (Stockport) 15, Will Owens (Bury) 13, Joel Partington (A&T) 12, Duncan Whalley (A&T) 11.


Referee – Neil Howarth.