Astley & Tyldesley hosted a bumper days' racing at Gin Pit, when staging Round 3 of the Northern Fours and Junior League series on Sunday. A bright, breezy day was interrupted by a few showers, with the track providing plenty of excellent racing throughout the day.

In the opening Fours League match, secondary registration riders Frank Finnigan and Rob Machin made their debuts for A & T. For the first time this season this spared A & T from having to field reluctant juniors in a senior match. A very close match took place, with visitors Scotia and Heckmondwike tieing for first place, with A & T just three points behind. James Carter raced unbeaten for Heckmondwike, with teammate Darren Kent and Scotia's Craig Newsome dropping just one point each. Finnigan and Machin both made major contributions for A & T, who were competitive for the first time this season in a senior match.

Northern Fours League Match 1 final score:

Scotia 41 Heckmondwike 41 Astley & Tyldesley Miners' Welfare / CTA Direct 38

Scotia scorers: Craig Newsome 15, Alan Smith 11 (plus 2 bonus), Ewan Tulloch 7, Chic Mackie 6 (1), Andy McDougall 2.

Heckmondwike scorers: James Carter 16, Darren Kent 15, Jamie Westcott 5, Sam Westcott 5.

Astley & Tyldesley scorers: Frank Finnigan 13, Rob Machin 11 (1), Mike Hack 9 (3), Roy Heslop 5 (1).

Northern Fours League Match 2 final score:

Goshen 52 Sheffield 35 Hull 33.

Northern Fours League Match 3 final score:

Tameside 45 Stockport 35 Bury 32.

Between the three Fours League matches was the staging of the different categories of the Northern Junior League. Astley & Tyldesley fielded debutants Dylan Radcliffe, Warren Mee and Simon Winston in the U-13 category, and they all made valuable contributions to the team score. Becky Heslop raced to a 16 points maximum score in the U-13 event, twice holding off strong challenges from Sheffield's Ashley Birks. Tameside's Chris Eaton was the unbeaten rider in the U-16 category, with Bury duo Ben Scranage and Steve Mann both racing unbeaten in the U-19 and Senior Combination categories respectively. At the conclusion of the four categories, it was Astley & Tyldesley who came out on top of the six teams competing, convincingly finishing ahead of nearest rivals Sheffield.

Northern Junior League Round 3 final score:

Astley & Tyldesley Miners' Welfare / CTA Direct 84 Sheffield 60 Bury 55 Tameside 51 Hull 39 Scotia 9.

Astley & Tyldesley scorers: Becky Heslop 16, Mike Hack 13, Lee Harper 12, Matt Winston 10, Roy Heslop 10, Warren Mee 9, Simon Winston 8, Dylan Radcliffe 6.