Ominous signs for the rest of the top flight as Swanage look to have returned to the form that won them four trophies in SL34. A run of seven wins from the last eight has seen them progress on three separate fronts, with back-to-back victories over league champions Peak Dean coming before an away league success at Brighton, a result which takes them to within a point of top spot. Sharks boss Nick Ward will be wondering just how the Swans managed to take their biggest victory at the Aqua-Dome in nine years, the 42-48 success achieved despite the Swans septet racing to just six race wins between them. Turning those six race wins into six heat advantages the key for Ross Miles’s side, a 5-1 from Joseph Fisher (10+1) and Joshua Ward (12+1) spreading the scores in a tight contest in heat 13, a Bradley Williams (7+1) winning 4-2 in the next proving decisive. It is perhaps those earlier wins over Peak Dean that will please Miles the most, Ward and Fisher dropping just a point apiece on home shale as the Swans dominated the defending champions in the league, winning that meeting 52-38, while three days later at the Micheldene a 44-46 victory over the Plunderers in the first round of the KO Cup gives the six-times winners of the competition a clear path to round two with their home leg to come. Peak Dean—who haven’t been beyond round three since they lifted the trophy 22 years ago—are facing another early exit after conceding 5-1’s to Ward (14+1) and Williams (10+1) in heats 14 and 15 having gone six up with back-to-back maximums of their own in the previous two races.

Russian Champion Venedict Glinka (120 made it back-to-back WSO successes by winning his opening World Championship meeting of SL36. West Ham’s £1.5million pre-season signing scored 12 to win this weeks Continental semi-final in Lublin, the world number 12 heading a list of qualifiers which also included fellow SL35 GP riders, Kelment Kobza (10) and Michael Weber (10). World number six Krzysztof Olszewski (6) however failed to make the cut. Putney’s Jindra Kubes (13) won the second of the ties in Gyor after beating Vincenzo Brambilla in a race off, world number nine Pavel Vonasek finished third, with Maxim Erglis (8)—eighth in the GP’s last year—qualifying from equal fifth.

After ten straight successive first round defeats Benfleet are on course to win a KO Cup tie for the first time in their history. Andy Harvey’s Robins won the first leg of the all third tier clash at Cradley, 43-47, a last heat 5-1 from Ethan Matthews (14) and Edward Brooks (7+1) earning them a lead going into the return leg at Kelvin Court. Long Ley are also in a strong position at the halfway stage of their tie, the second tier side winning at division three Calne, 41-49, new signing Jari Rasmussen (6+1) amongst the heat winners for the visitors, as was reserve Jake Hyde (7+3).

Seven wins on the bounce now in the league for Dover who are now also unbeaten in ten in all competitions. A 44-46 victory at Long Ley has helped the Silkmen end the week four points clear of Medeswell at the top of division two, the Magpies losing ground after being held to a draw by Bolsover on their travels, where they conceded a last heat 5-1. A draw too in Tresco’s latest home league meeting, Long Ley taking a point on their travels after that earlier home loss. In division three the meeting between hosts Witham and Houston ended all square when Vincenzo Brambrilla (12) made it four wins out of five on the night by beating Lucas Cartwright (11) in the last.