Astley & Tyldesley made the short trip to Bury for the final round of the Northern Fours & Junior League series. Having led the Fours League for most of the season, A & T started the day a point behind the leaders Tameside, but racing in separate matches.

The home Bury team took the lead in heat 4 of the first Fours League match and held it from then on, with the other three teams battling it out for second place. The outcome was decided by two controversial races. Bury's Paul Dyson jumped the start in heat 7, and A & T's Chris Finnigan and Sheffield's Martin Gamble both waited on the start line for the race to be stopped, but the referee let it run. Dyson won from Heckmondwike's Richard Westcott, with Gamble 3rd and Finnigan 4th, both a long way behind. The scores remained close, but A & T looked to be edging 2nd place, before Jeff Radcliffe was rightly excluded for moving at the start in the penultimate race. Then, Heckmondwike's James Carter moved at the start in the re-run, but to A & T's dismay he was allowed back in the re-run. Sheffield had now secured 2nd place on the day, and with Finnigan finishing behind Bury's Ben Scranage and Heckmondwike's Darren Kent in the last heat, A & T and Heckmondwike had tied for 3rd place on the day.

Northern Fours League match result.

Bury 50 Sheffield 36 Astley & Tyldesley MWC 33 Heckmondwike 33.

Bury: Paul Dyson 15, Fred Rothwell 14, Ben Scranage 12, John Whiting 5, Scott Jarman 4.

Sheffield: Martin Gamble 12, Mick Knowles 9, Robert Mawhood 7, Robert Hudson 6, Andy Knowles 2.

A & T: Chris Finnigan 11, Warren Mee 8, Jeff Radcliffe 7, Mark Keirl 4, Mark Taylor 3.

Heckmondwike: Darren Kent 15, James Carter 12, Richard Westcott 6.

Referee - Ewan Tulloch (Scotia).

Tameside finished second in the other Fours League match to clinch the Fours League title, whilst Bury's win in that match was sufficient for them to pip A & T for 2nd place in the league by half a point.

A & T fielded three debutants in the Northern Junior League match that followed. Lewis Fletcher and Laura Allen both rode well, to score a respectable 9 points each, against older opposition in the U-13 category. Former Tameside rider Trevor Hulton has signed for A & T on his recent return from Australia and he raced in his first match for 12 years, winning three of his four races in the Combination category. John Nuttall also dropped just one point, in the U-13 category. A & T finished in 2nd place on the day, a performance they have achieved in every round, to finish 2nd to Bury in the overall Junior League table.

Northern Junior League match result.

Bury 191 Astley & Tyldesley MWC 125 Sheffield 90 Scotia 71 Tameside 37 Heckmondwike 0.

A & T scorers: John Nuttall 15, Trevor Hulton 15, Dylan Radcliffe 13, Warren Mee 13, Mark Keirl 12, Mike Hack 11, Joe Allen 10, Charlie Keirl 9, Laura Allen 9, Lewis Fletcher 9, Jeff Radcliffe 9.