Three times league champions Sankey have spent big to correct a pre-season mistake which has seen them make an awful start to SL26. Now in their third season at the second tier level, Derek Moody would have been hoping his Sharks would be right up there in the battle for promotion, they instead find themselves bottom of the table and already eliminated from the Division Two Cup having won just one of their opening ten competitive meetings. Patrick Chapman ended SL25—his second full season with the club—having achieved a career high GSA of 8.18, with Moody having him down as an almost certain starter for SL26. The strong pre-season form of Peter Manni and Chistain Sandholm caused a rethink at the Woodlands however, and Chapman was released with the two second strings kept in his place. However, as so often is the case, form in the warm-ups has not translated into points in competitive meetings, both Manni and Sandholm have lost points off their GSA and Chapman has been called back. At a cost of £368,944 signing on fee! It’s a gamble that has to pay off, the expenditure this season—Moody also spent nearly £800,000 on Vlastimil Bily prior to the campaign getting underway—demands racing at the highest level, luckily—although bottom—Sankey are just five points off top, with only four clubs to date having won away from home in the division. All ten meetings in the league at that level this week were won by the home side, Sankey amongst the winners, they beating London 46-44 to record only their second victory of the season, Bily (12) beating Corey Wolin (15+1) to win a decisive last heat 4-2 for the hosts.

A bonus point earning 54-36 victory over Don Valley has taken Manor into the semi-finals of the Division One Cup for the fourth successive season. The SL24 winners through with a first round meeting to spare after making it three wins out of three in this years competition, reserve Toedor Loverencic (10+3) ensuring the hosts would take three group points from the meeting with his second victory of the night in heat 14. Meanwhile results in the other half of the draw mean that Denaby are also now certain of a spot in the last four, that despite them not racing this week. Steve Pearce’s Devils finished as runners-up in SL23, the only season prior to this that they have made it through the group stage. Liden are out despite picking up an away point with at draw at Ramsgate this week, a result which also sees the hosts eliminated from the section. With home meetings to come, both holders Don Valley and Cradley Heath—who both already sit second in their respective groups—are favourites to complete the semi-final line-up.

Don Valley end the first couple of months of the campaign with just one league defeat having fought back from ten down to draw their latest away top flight meeting at Liden. Valeri Lach (15) fell in the opener as the Vipers conceded the first of two 5-1’s in the opening three races to the hosts, another Liden maximum in heat seven took the Rebels into a 26-16 lead. Matt Akers’ visitors however recovered thanks to four second half heat advantages, Lach winning them all, the first when in as a tactical substitute in heat eight where he partnered second string Ethan McCarthy to a 5-1. Ramsgate’s home meeting with Brighton also ended all-square, the Rams—detached at the bottom of the standings—gaining their first league point of the campaign from the fixture after Alexander Wagner (15 from six) partnered Jacob Brady (13+1) to a last heat 5-1.

London beat Wednesfield 49-41 to confirm a spot in the Division Two Cup semi-finals for the first time in their history after two previous failures. In the other half of the draw a last four place beckons Southampton after they picked up an away point for a draw at Quantock, a meeting in which their reserve Paul Adams (8) was amongst the heat winners. In the Division Three Cup California won at Yarmouth, 44-46, to put them in pole position to qualify alongside Benfleet in their section. Results elsewhere securing the Bees—who sat out this week—a semi-final spot.

California made it two away wins on the bounce when following up their cup success with a division three win at Nottingham. Shane Towler (10) and Nils Morgensen (12+1) scored a last heat 5-1 for David Grainger’s Poppies to secure both league points, 43-47, in a meeting they had led in for 13 of the 14 previous heats. They end the week in the promotion places at the expense of the Ducks, who drop out of the top three despite an earlier 38-52 win at Stobswood, a meeting in which Ormos Dorko (15) scored his first full league maximum in four years. Elsewhere there were 44-46 away victories for Border and leaders Hertford, who won at Newquay and Hull respectively.