Saturday night saw a thrilling night of racing at the National Speedway Stadium as the ACU British Sidecar Speedway Championships took place alongside the Manchester Masters Flat Track Championships.
Mark Cossar and his passenger Gareth Williams went through the card with a flawless performance to clinch first place in the ACU British Sidecar Speedway, emulating previous successes in Manchester.
Cossar’s victory was his tenth such accolade, making him one of the best and most successful Sidecar riders in the country.
He said: “I really enjoyed my night at the National Speedway Stadium. The track was amazing and the crowd were incredibly supportive.
“We’re delighted to have gotten the win on the night. It was a challenging meeting and all of the boys stepped up their game to make it a very exciting event.”
Former Speedway regular Robert Mear stormed to a perfect score in the Flat Track tournament, taking top spot on the podium and besting his 11 rivals.
Belle Vue’s No.1 man Dan Bewley enjoyed a brilliant Flat Track debut, taking the silver medal overall less than four weeks after first trying his hand at the sport.
He said: “I loved every minute of this meeting! Chasing down Rob in the final was awesome but he’s an experienced guy and he edged away from me in the end.
“I’ve only had two practices prior to this, so this was only my third time out on this bike which sounds pretty good, but we have been very busy behind the scenes.
“I’m not sure how this is going to develop for me, I certainly want to get more involved with this sport but for now it’s a bit of fun and awesome to be a part of so we’ll see what happens.
“I’d like to give a big shoutout to all the lads, both Flat Track and Sidecar, who competed tonight. It was a really exciting night and everyone put on an awesome show.”
RESULT – BRITISH SIDECAR SPEEDWAY CHAMPIONSHIPS/ MANCHESTER FLAT TRACK MASTERS
SIDECARS
QUALIFYING SCORES: Mark Cossar/Gareth Williams 12, Matt Tyrell/Liam Brown 11, Mick Cave/Bradley Steer 10, Will Penfold/Rick Pay 8, Paul Whitelam/Richard Webb 6, Gareth Winterburn/Bradley Atkinson 6, Mick Stance/Ryan Knowles 6, Tom Cossar/Andy Wilson 4, Rob Bradley/Paul Cooper 2, Simon Beaney/Sam Heath 2, Billy Winterburn/Ryan Wharton 2
SEMI-FINAL: Mick Cave/Bradley Steer, Will Penfold/Rick Pay, Paul Whitelam/Richard Webb, Gareth Winterburn/Bradley Atkinson
FINAL: Mark Cossar/Gareth Williams, Matt Tyrell/Liam Brown, Will Penfold/Rick Pay, Mick Cave/Bradley Steer
FLAT TRACK
GRAND FINAL: Rob Mear, Dan Bewley, Gary Burtwhistle
Photo by Ian Charles