Smethwick’s first Division One Cup campaign in seven years has ended in a fifth successive first round group exit for the club. With three of the four semi-final places already taken, all eyes were on Rugby’s Fugiendo Vinciums circuit this week, where the Gravediggers took on the Meerkats in a winner-takes-all contest. A draw in fact would have been good enough for the hosts, and they would have accepted that gladly after heading into the final five races trailing the visitors, who won the division two version of the competition last season. They would do better than that however, in the space of three heats Rugby had gone from heading out to sealing a semi-final spot with two races to spare, they smashing their way through to the last four with a 4-2 and then successive 5-1’s. Zygmunt Jablonski (12+1) rode to his third straight win of the meeting in bringing home the first of the decisive heat advantages, reserve Darren Spencer (7+1) beating SL15 World Champion Per Conteh (5+1) for third to level the scores up. After gaining one point in that, the 22 year old returned to the track in heat 12—sent in by David Grainger for a reserve ride—to gain two more for a second place finish behind Simon Gough (11), one 5-1 became two when Valeri Elin (11) joined forces with Jablonski for maximum points in heat 13. At least one point now certain to be going the Gravediggers ways, they eight up with two races remaining and heading into the last four. They were pegged back by the Meerkats in the closing heats, but still ran out 46-44 winners as they reached the semi-finals for only the second time in their 12 attempts, the first time was last season when they went on to lift the trophy!

Defending league champions Bridgwater marked their returned to the European Cup after one year away with a comfortable first round first leg victory over Plock. Three of the hosts septet scored maximums in the 54-36 success, with heat leaders Andy James (14+1) and Odell Espeseth (14+1) unbeaten in five rides, second string Niklas Hatala (11+1) in his four outings to the track. 19 year old Hatala had struggled earlier this season following his £1/2million move to the club, but has come good of late after a spell at reserve. He top scored with a season best 14 in the Baboons later league visit to leaders Whitemoor, which did though end in a 50-40 defeat for Bridgwater despite his best efforts. Whitemoor also enjoyed a double figure win in the European Cup, beating Pila 50-40, however disappointment for the other two British sides in action in the competition, with Chalvington held to a draw at Lullington Heath by Prague and Rugby defeated 43-47 on home shale by Krakow.

Mixed fortunes for the British riders in this weeks World Championship first round tie in Smethwick. The good news first, Wordsley’s Lee Alty (12) topping the standings in the meeting by a point from Cestmir Sulak, world number three Taavi Raudnagel qualified through to round two after finishing another point further back. World Number 14 George Bull (6) though missed the cut after he failed to recover from retirement in heat six. Chalvington and Sweden star Per Dalberg (13) won the second of this weeks ties in Malmo, the world number eight finishing a point clear of another of last years GP stars, world number two, Risto Anttila.

Cambridge became the sixth side to win at Netherton in the league this season, a result which takes them out of the division one relegation zone. Unbeaten pair Martin Skoog (13+2) and Morten Hartmann (13+2) scored a last heat 5-1 to complete the 44-46 win for the visitors, who had fallen six behind on three separate occasions in the meeting and trailed throughout it until their last race ‘smash and grab’. Neither Skoog nor Hartmann has scored a maximum this season prior to the victory.

Bolsover’s advantage at the top of division two has been cut from five points to one following the latest round of results. The leaders dropped their first home point of the campaign with the visit of Wilmington, the Wombats—who started the week second—having to settle for a draw after conceding a last heat 4-2 to the hosts. Wilmington though find themselves outside of the promotion places having previous lost at home to Glasshoughton, the Gazelles up to second thanks to the 43-47 win in which David Ahlquist (12) scored his fourth four ride maximum of the season! Nottingham meanwhile are up to third from sixth after extending their winning run to five in the league, the latest success a 40-50 victory at March, where Daniel Wedin (15) went through the card unbeaten. Loughton also made it five league wins on the bounce, in their case in division three, the leaders extending their sequence at Bristol, where a last heat 5-1 from Roland Mair (13) and Joshua Russell (13+1) secured them a 43-47 success.