Cradley Heath and Ramsgate both enjoyed comfortable second round wins and will now meet in the KO Cup for the first time since SL9. Away victories at third tier outfits Benfleet (44-46) and Stobswood (43-47) respectively took them through to the last eight, the Hammers had lost in the second round in each of the previous five seasons. A second all top flight quarter-final tie pits Liden with Bolsover, it’s the first time either has made it that far in the competition.

Home and away wins from their latest fixtures has given Don Valley a six point lead at the top of division one. They reach the halfway point of the campaign with a 38 point tally, the most achieved by any club at this stage of the season in 11 years. An 18 point maximum from Valeri Lach at Laceby helped take them there, he leading the way as the Vipers grabbed a last gasp 44-46 victory with a heat 15 5-1. At the other end of the standings there were crucial away wins for both Dumpton and Merseyside, with the latter winning on the road for the first time in their SL26 division one campaign when they paid a visit to then bottom of the table Ramsgate. The home reserves scored just two points between them in the 42-48 loss, in contrast Jacob Cooke scored 9+2 in the Marauders number seven race-jacket and was involved in both visiting sides 5-1’s, including when taking second to Zachary Anderson in heat 14 as his side regained the lead heading into the last. Dumpton’s away victory—their second of the campaign—was returned at Liden, where second string Damjan Jelic (10+1) and reserve Timur Lazarov (7+2) were amongst the heat winners. Liden slip to the foot of the table, replacing Ramsgate, who bounced back from their home loss to win at Brighton, 44-46, taking the points with a last heat 4-2.

Altrincham pulled eight points clear at the top of division two with a 52-38 victory over Buxton. The Panthers—looking to record their fifth successive promotion when racing in the second tier—had earlier taken a draw from their meeting at Tottenham, where second string Bjorn Maurer pocketed a season best 12+1. London meanwhile blew their chance to become Altrincham’s closest challengers, having moved into the top three with a 42-48 victory at Dudley, they slipped back into fourth after going down to a 44-46 home loss against eighth placed Sankey. The in-form Sharks fourth straight league victory came in smash-and-grab style, with Vlastimil Bily (11+1) and Patrick Chapman (15+1) taking a 5-1 when in as tactical substitutes in heat 14 and then doing the same as the nominated riders in the last heat decider. Bolsover returned to the top of division three with a 26 point win over Hull before moving clear of the pack with a 44-46 win at previous leaders Hertford. The Bears first home defeat in nearly a year inflicted by a last heat 5-1 from Zsolt Mezo (15) and Marek Kaczmarek (10+1). Hertford drop out of the promotion places altogether, they replaced by California, whose meeting at Benfleet finished all-square. Elsewhere second string Harry Sims (9) raced to two heat wins as Yarmouth won at Stobswood, 44-46.

There were tie wins for Southampton’s Blake Gray (13) and Dumpton’s Jacek Wozniak (13) as the World Championship second round concluded this week.