Just five wins in 32 competitive meetings this season but Kent have found themselves in the final of the European Cup. Go figure. Two of those five victories have come in that competition, in addition they claimed a semi final first leg draw at opponents West Ham last week, which set them on their way to their maiden success at this stage. Holders and three-times winners West Ham were brushed aside all two easily by the top flight strugglers, this weeks hosts going ten points up in the first five races, with Lewis Farmer (8)—making his debut for the Steelers following his recent switch from Farnham—amongst the heat winners in the opening period. Farmer’s heat two success began a run of five in a row for Kent riders, which set the hosts on their way to an eventual 12 point victory, every one of Mitch Godden’s septet making telling contributions, with six of the seven providing at least one race win. Edward Wise was the odd one out, but he scored a paid win in a heat four 5-1 behind Jaka Dedic (5+2), while Dedic’s fellow second string Alexandr Ivanov (6+1) became the sixth different race winner when finishing clear of Sladan Bruhn (10+2) in the second home side maximum of the meeting in heat ten, which all but sealed their progressing to the final. In that final they will face Peak Dean, a side back in the decider for the first time since they lifted the trophy back in SL11. Second string Jake Mitchell top scored with 12 for the Plunderers this week as they limited Krakow to a 49-41 home second leg win in their semi-final tie, a result which sent Stuart Smith’s side through by eight.

Swanage’s defeat at West Ham allowed Putney to close to within three points of the championship pacesetters. They did so by beating title rivals Brighton 44-46 on their travels, Kimmo Laakso (15) completing his fifth full maximum of the season and earning the winning points in the meeting when beating Rostislav Ruzicka (10) in the last heat decider. Putney have an excellent chance of closing the gap to the leaders further next week when they travel to Reading, a side that lost for the fourth time at home in the league this week with the visit of Peak Dean. The Plunderers back up to third spot in the standings after the 41-49 win, the points secured for the visitors by a heat 14 5-1 won by reserve Pavel Marijanovic (9+2), that the second win of the night for the teenage Slovenian, the visitors managed just six in total.

Dover have gone ten points clear at top of division two after inflicting Wordsley’s first home league defeat on them of SL36. The runaway leaders took their away win count for the campaign to five when Mikhail Yudin (13+1) and 19 year old George Goldsmith (12+1) scored a 5-1 in the last heat decider, the Silkmen winners by two in a meeting they had trailed in by 12 after the first six races. Promotion back to the top flight after three years away became even more likely when fourth placed Nottingham lost their unbeaten home record too, the gap between first and fourth now up to 13 with the Jazz defeated at Brune Park by bottom side Bilston, 43-46. The Bull Terriers have sat tenth all season, but have gone on a run of just one defeat in seven, leaving them just two points adrift of seventh placed Bolsover and safety. Bolsover had began the week in the drop zone themselves, that before they racked up a club record 39-51 away win at Medeswell, where in-season signings Jack Harrison (11+1) and Kostya Grasmick (8+2) tallied their best scores in a Bears race-jacket.

Houston end the week at the head of the division three standings after winning their top of the table clash at Poole. A 44-46 victory for the visitors in the crunch encounter completed by a second place finish from Pavlov Imants (7+2) in the last. Meanwhile Farnham—who have lost just two of their last 11—are up to a season high fourth, just points difference off the promotion places, after winning at Witham, 40-50.

West Ham’s Venedcit Glinka (14) was a convincing winner of the first GP of the season at Wirral. A second career success for the world number seven, who finished four points clear of Cameron Richards (2nd) and Michael Weber (3rd). Meanwhile Bilston’s Alfie Curre (15) won the first of the WU19 semi-finals in Lublin.