Astley & Tyldesley Cycle Speedway hosted the 2004 British Veterans Individual Championships at Gin Pit on Saturday. The Championships were sponsored by the Astley & Tyldesley Miners' Welfare Club. On a fine day, an excellent meeting took place with plenty of fast racing that belied the ages of the competitors (ranging from 40 to 60 years old). With 3 withdrawals, there was no need to stage a Pre-Qualifying match, instead the 32 riders present contested two semi-finals, with the top eight from each qualifying for the final.

Paul Dyson won the 1st semi-final, with a maximum score. A gate exclusion to defending Grand Veterans Champion Bob Prince in his final race proved costly, as he qualified for the final as a reserve. With 5 Grand Veterans qualifying for the final, Prince's hopes of retaining the title had vanished.

1st Semi-Final scorers:

Paul Dyson (Bury) 20, Dave Murphy (Newport) 18, Frank Finnigan (Astley & Tyldesley) 17, Martin Gamble (Sheffield) 17, Fred Rothwell (Bury) 15, Chris Riches (Hawbush) 14, Dave Tulloch (Hawbush) 14, Dave Palfreyman (East London) 13, Bob Prince (Birmingham) 12, Tim Metcalfe (Coventry) 10, Ian McKinlay (Scotia) 10, Alan Evans (Norwich) 10, Jack Pinkerton (Scotia) 9, Robert Stanton (unattached) 7, Alan Patterson (unattached) 5, John Whiting (Bury) 5.

Referee - Wayne Aris (Wednesfield).

Ian Woodhouse headed the qualifiers in the 2nd semi-final, with Jimmy Varnish recovering from a fall second time out to qualify comfortably. Les Stevens won a three man run-off for the last qualifying place.

2nd Semi-Final scorers:

Ian Woodhouse (Southampton) 18, Jimmy Varnish (Wednesfield) 16, Richard Edge (Horspath) 16, Ivan Darby (Sandwell) 15, Brian Eaton (Tameside) 15, Pat Beacock (Heckmondwike) 14, Phil Hemmings (Sandwell) 14, Les Stevens (East London) 13, Paul Timms (Birmingham) 13, Keith Snelling (Southampton) 13, John Murphy (Scotia) 11, Dave Gott (East London) 10, Tony Bowen (Sandwell) 9, Mick Evans (Sandwell) 8, Steve Mann (Bury) 6, Allan Busby (Southampton) 3.

Referee - Mike Hack (Astley & Tyldesley).

In the final, former World Champion Jimmy Varnish raced to a 20 points maximum in winning the Veterans (Over 40s) title, and he recorded a time of 43.50 seconds, just over 2 seconds outside the Gin Pit track record. His hardest race came first time out when he withheld several strong challenges from Ian Woodhouse. After a long absence from cycle speedway until this year, Varnish looked as classy as ever and was a most deserved winner of the title. Gating well and pulling out his trademark passes when he needed to, he made winning look so easy. Sandwell's Ivan Darby took 2nd place, whilst Newport's Dave Murphy won a four man run-off to take the bronze medal.

Bury's Fred Rothwell won the Grand Veterans (Over 50s) title, with Astley & Tyldesley's Frank Finnigan runner-up and Chris Riches of Essex side Hawbush finishing 3rd. Rothwell led this category throughout and was a deserved winner of his first ever British title. Finnigan recovered well after a poor start to take 2nd place, whilst Riches was well rewarded after making the long trip from Folkestone. The match was well handled by Wayne Aris.

The Mayor of Wigan, Councillor John Hilton, along with the Mayoress, accompanied by Astley & Tyldesley Chairman Phil Hagerty, presented the awards to the riders at the end of the meeting.

Veterans Final scorers:

Jimmy Varnish (Wednesfield) 20, Ivan Darby (Sandwell) 17, Dave Murphy (Newport) 15, Richard Edge (Horspath) 15, Fred Rothwell (Bury) 15, Martin Gamble (Sheffield) 15, Ian Woodhouse (Southampton) 15, Paul Dyson (Bury) 13, Frank Finnigan (Astley & Tyldesley) 12, Chris Riches (Hawbush) 11, Pat Beacock (Heckmondwike) 10, Dave Palfreyman (East London) 10, Les Stevens (East London) 9, Phil Hemmings (Sandwell) 7, Brian Eaton (Tameside) 6, Dave Tulloch (Hawbush) 5.

Referee - Wayne Aris (Wednesfield).

Grand Veterans scorers:

Fred Rothwell (Bury) 15, Frank Finnigan (Astley & Tyldesley) 12, Chris Riches (Hawbush) 11, Les Stevens (East London) 9, Dave Tulloch (Hawbush) 5. The other seven competitors were eliminated at the Semi-final stage.