Manchester Regional Track League,
PREMIER DIVISION
Manchester Velodrome
Manchester, England
Jan / April 2003

This is the final " jottings from the Velodrome for this session " but don't forget we are back on the 7th of October for a further 10 weeks.
On the final night the racing was of a high standard. The points race saw a Stockport Clarion one two. Duncan Hewitt first across the line to get second place to Will Sanderson who had collected 12 points, enough to win.
In event 4 Jimmy Rutherford suffered a loss of spokes in his front wheel but managed to stay upright and after getting another wheel competed in all the other events.
The last event of the evening and session saw a very close finish. With 5 laps to go Gethin Butler made his move and established a half lap lead. This was maintained until the final bend when he appeared to run out of steam. He was caught on the line by Mike Cubison.
In summary I think the new format of longer races has been well received and this is reflected in the greater number of riders.
Best wishes for a good summer.
Ride safely and return refreshed for the next session.

It may have been the first of April but there was no fooling around at the track last night. The first race set the standard, five miles in just over nine and a half minutes [31 miles per hour] and a storming finish by the three sprinters.
Matt Haynes went past Alwyn McMath in the back straight and held on to win with Jamie Staff just pushing Alwyn into third place by the width of a tyre on the line.
Jamie Staff also took the points race [ 23 points ], using his sprinting ability to counter the pace injected by Gethin Butler in second place [ 13 points ]
Matt Crampton took the devil for even numbered riders and Alwyn riding his usual clever tactical race took the other devil.
In the final 10 mile race the pace up to half distance caused 10 riders to withdraw. The race was again animated by the relentless pace of Gethin Butler with no one willing to make a break and share the work with him mike Cubison tried on one occasion and they gained half a lap but were caught. At the end the greater sprinting speed of Alwyn McMath gave him the win from Phil West and Gavin was not placed.

In the first race it looked as if Alwyn McMath had left it too late but James Cunningham who had gone early and got a half lap was just caught on the line. The point's race went to Keirin page with a variety of people taking some of the primes but he finished with 28 points to second place Russell Andersons 16.
Both devils went as expected. In the ten mile scratch several of the riders listed to ride the Madison joined the field in contravention of the organisers intentions. It was eventually won by Alwyn McMath with one of the Madison riders Russell Anderson finishing in second place.
Anderson paid for this early in the Madison when he retired and left his partner Keirin page to come off the track. The winning pair of west and Clancy finished with 19 points compared to the Stockport clarion pairing of Mortel and Hewitt on 17. West showed his experience, getting the faster rider in on the sprint lap and changing at the correct time.

Another excellent nights racing for riders and spectators. The tone was set in the first race won by Alwyn Mc Mmath who out sprinted Keirin Page and Mike Cubison to win in 9 minutes 48.741 seconds [ 30.396 miles per hour ].
The points race went to Keirin Page as last week but with a much reduced points tally. Mike Cubison, back riding instead of commentating, won the devil for even numbered riders and Alwyn continued to win the odd devil. Alwyn also stayed the distance well and still had enough to out sprint Keirin Page to take the 10 mile final race.
The league now shows Alwyn to have a 12 point lead with Keirin Page moving into second place. Duncan Hewitt had a good night being placed in three of his four races.

Last night saw the return of keirin page in very good form, he looked very smooth and took the first race, and then went on to pile up 30 points in the 40 lap points race to take that also. The devil eluded him, the one for even numbered riders being won by Matthew Crampton and that for odd riders going as usual to the very experienced Alwyn
Mc Math, Gethin Butler took second place and third was Phil West returning after an amazingly short time after breaking his collar bone. The points Alwyns win and a second place in the first race give him the lead in the overall track league with 46 points, 4 more than the absent Dave Mmicklethwaite.
The final race, 10 mile scratch, saw a blistering pace split the field apart with many retirements. Keirin page out sprinted Gethin Butler to win in the time of 20 minutes
18.526 seconds [ 29.372 miles per hour ] .

Any rider completing the scheduled distance for the group riding the Madison and staying on the winning pace would feel justifiably proud and really got their monies worth. Four races, 38km [ 23.75 miles ] in 47 minutes [ 30.32 m.p.h.]. Check the maths queries to the commentary box next week.
Again good quality riding with an even field, only Ed Clancy winning more than one event. Gethin Butler tried in each of his races to make a long distance break. In each case he was eventually reeled in but did pick up enough points in the points race to take second place to Paul Manning. In the 50 lap scratch Craig Maclean looked impressive. He will be back next week before going to Japan to join a Keirin "stable". Final race the 60 lap Madison, good to see Marshall riding again and winning along with the highest point scorer on the night Ed Clancy.

A very good nights racing enjoyed by both the riders and the increased number of spectators. A well balanced field resulted in 12 of the 30 riders gaining points and in Ddave Micklethwaite , placed in all his races, taking the lead in the track league with a 1 point lead over the absent Kevin Taylor. In event 3 Mr. J. Rutherford was relegated to second place by the commissaire after he inadvertently strayed from his line on the last bend. In the points race 6 riders succeeded in lapping the field and first place was taken by Paul Manning with a very respectable 27 points. The last race, 10 mile scratch, resulted in a win for Guy Cook in the cracking time of 21 minutes.

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