Astley & Tyldesley visited Bury for a Northern League local derby fixture on a very blustery Sunday afternoon.

Bury opened with a 6-4 heat win in the Division 1 match, but A&T banged in three maximum 7-3 heat wins to open up a 10 points lead after heat 7.

The visitors were content to sit on this lead, before scoring another 7-3 win in heat 16, to run out convincing 97-82 winners.

It was a very good team performance by A&T, with all six riders scoring well, with Reece Pollitt dropping just two points.

Northern League Division 1 match result

Bury 82 Astley & Tyldesley 97

A&T scorers: Reece Pollitt 20 (plus 2 bonus), Paul Graham 18 (1), Ciaran Collins 17 (2), Max Evans 16 (2), Kyle Holland 14 (5), Mark Grantham 12 (1).

Bury made a quick start in the Division 2 match, leading 19-11 after 3 heats, but A&T fought back well to lead 52-46 with five races remaining.

A controversial end to the match saw Bury take four 7-3 heat wins in the last five races and A&T captain Max Evans receive a red card for dissent

to the referee. Bury ran out 79-65 winners. Gareth Paine and Max Evans won three races each for A&T.

Northern League Division 2 match result

Bury 79 Astley & Tyldesley 65

A&T scorers: Gareth Paine 14, Mark Grantham 12 (1), Max Evans 11, Emily Burgess 10 (1), John White 9 (2), Mark Brundrett 4, Charlie Burgess 4, Tom Morrissey 1.

A&T maintained their 100% record in Division 3, with a convincing 133-53 win. Emily Burgess and Duncan Whalley raced unbeaten in the u-13 and u-10

categories respectively.

Northern League Division 3 match result

Bury 53 Astley & Tyldesley 133

A&T scorers: Duncan Whalley 16, Emily Burgess 16, John White 14, Aiden Green 13, Tom Morrissey 13, Frank White 12, Fraser Brundrett 11, Lucy Grantham 10,

Freddie Cox 8, Charlie Burgess 8, Tom Beeley 6, Sabrina Evans 6.

Round 3 of the Manchester League Grand Prix series was staged at Stockport on a very wet Wednesday evening.

In the Division 2 match, Astley & Tyldesley took the team win for the third successive round, ahead of Stockport.

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

Astley & Tyldesley 72 Stockport 59 Bury 47

A&T scorers: Reece Pollitt 16, Aiden Green 15, Max Evans 14, Ciaran Collins 14, Duncan Whalley 13, Frank White 12, Emily Burgess 12, John White 12,

Matt Snell 11, Charlie Burgess 10, Ben Forshaw 10, Jack Murray 6.

A&T's Reece Pollitt raced to a 16 points maximum score, for the second senior GP round in succession. Stockport took the Division 1 team win, ahead of A&T.

Manchester League Division 1 match result (top 5 scorers only count for team totals)

Stockport 63 Astley & Tyldesley 47 Sheffield 19 Bury 13

A&T scorers: Reece Pollitt 16, Max Evans 10, Ciaran Collins 9, Mick Knowles 7, Ben Forshaw 5.

Astley & Tyldesley have been rocked by the sad news that top rider Damian Zareba has been forced to quit racing, due to a serious back injury.

The 34 year old Pole from Bydgoszcz was the 2004 European Champion and very much in form this year, despite racing when less than fully fit.

He aggravated his long standing injury in the Battle of Britain match in April and has bowed to medical advice to quit racing to avoid worsening the injury.

Everyone at A&T wishes Damian all the best - his dynamic and spectacular racing style will be sorely missed.