An 89-91 aggregate KO Cup exit to Chalvington last week cost Whitemoor the chance of a silverware clean sweep in SL29. However Trevor Walker’s Club Pairs winners remain on course for a record five major competition wins, as they look to break their maiden in the league, 4TT plus both of the Division One and European Cups. They host Krakow in the second leg of the final of the latter next week trailing by just four from the opener, Bernd Hoover (16) winning a last heat 4-2 as the visitors recovered to stand in a healthy position at the halfway point of the tie, having been ten down on the Poles after the first six races. As well as a visit from Krakow, they have four legs from the 4TT semi-finals, later in the month they meet Newport Pagnell in the Division One Cup decider, with both sides completing wins in their last four ties this week. It’s now only realistically the Knights that stand in their way of landing their main target of the season, a first league title, although Walker’s side will take some catching given they have a seven point advantage at the head of the standings, while with the top two both winning home and away this week the gap between first and third has grown to 12 points with just ten meetings remaining. Hoover (16) raced to five heat wins and Cestmir Sulak (12) another four as Whitemoor bounced back from six down to win at Claygate 44-46 on their latest road trip, the leaders currently on a winning run of six in the league. Newport Pagnell have lost just two of their last 11 to make themselves the main challenger’s to the Witches, their latest success a two point victory at Netherton was secured by a last heat 5-1 from Lee Cooper (14) and Denis Rask (10+2).

Smethwick are left looking over their shoulders after a first home defeat of the campaign saw them finish the week just five points clear of the division one drop zone. The 44-46 loss to Bridgwater also means their hopes of European Cup racing next season lie almost entirely with them reaching the final of the KO Cup, the Baboons own hopes of appearing in that competition for a fifth time in six years boosted by the result, which leaves them just two points off third in the standings. Bridgwater’s first ever league points on the London Road circuit were secured by a last heat 4-2 won by Odell Espeseth (13), which followed a first win of the night from Niklas Hatala (7+3), the £1/2million 19 year old capping an excellent performance at second string with victory over home heat leader Kristof Muller (5) in the penultimate race.

Nottingham remain on course for a second Division Two Cup win in three seasons after reaching the final once again. 10+2 from reserve Jaroslaw Gora helped the Red Stars limit second leg hosts Coalville to just a 46-44 win when the two sides met in the semi-final of the competition this week, the visitors progressing by six as a result, with their place secured in the decider by Gora’s second win of the meeting in heat 14. Oxford too made it through their last-four tie with Glasshoughton with a race to spare, Alistair Carrol’s Mavericks winning the second leg 47-43 despite the visitors claiming the majority of the heat victories, the first leg at the Gazelles had finished all-square. Meanwhile hefty home second leg wins for Wimbledon (54-36 over Plymouth) and Newington (56-34 over Halesowen) earned the two league rookies a place in this years Division Three Cup final.

A third successive podium from the three GP’s this season has taken Bernd Hoover (12) seven points clear at the top of the World Championship standings. The Austrian and Whitemoor rider claimed his first meeting win of the series in Germany when beating Filip Sarka in a race-off, the success a tenth of his career, equalling Andy James’ record.

After going five years without a victory Lee Cooper made it two WSO wins in the season by strolling to a first British title at Whitemoor. The Newport Pagnell man followed up his semi-final success from earlier in SL29 with a four point win over George Bull (2nd), Simon Gough (3rd) and Terry Duffield (4th), who fought out a race-off for the minor podium places. 31 year old Cooper—who won the Polish GP twice early on in his career—now has 11 WSO victories to his name.

Wilmington have moved back into the promotion places in division two for the first time in over three months. They do so at the expense of Coalville, who lost their spot in the top three after a 44-46 home defeat to Great Barr, inflicted by Sebastian Koch’s (13) last heat win over Anton Cirar (12). Koch has since left to join Smethwick, he signing off for the Ravens in a later home 43-47 loss to Wilmington in which he scored 11, the Wombats 19 year old number one Philip Sorensen (10+1) racing to a decisive victory over the Austrian in the final race of the meeting.