It could be a first season in four without a trophy for Stowmarket as they unexpectedly crashed out of the KO Cup. Winners of nine major competitions in the last three years, the Witches still have chances in both the league and 4TT, however the KO Cup was seen as their best shot of silverware in SL31, especially after having limited holders Leeds to just a six point lead in the first leg of the last four tie, with this weeks home meeting to come. Stowmarket had levelled the semi-final up as early as the end of heat four, although they had to wait until a Christopher Hall (10) winning 5-1 in heat nine to get their noses in front on aggregate. Three more wins in the next five—including a third of the night from Hall in the penultimate race—ensured Bill Jones’s side remained with the advantage heading into the last, a final spot was theirs for the taking. Daniel Lake (12+1) hadn’t won on any of his five outings to the circuit prior to the decider, that was about to change, the Brit’ fighting his way by Hall down the back straight of the opening lap to take the lead, Hall then slipped from second to third as Aaron Macaulay (13+1) pull off a fantastic move on the inside of the first bend of the second lap. Lake and Macaulay were away and gone, they never threatened again as they cruised to a the 5-1 that would take them to a two point aggregate victory and into a fifth KO Cup final in six years. As expected Dudley came through the other last four tie to reach their first ever final in the competition, Tim Foster’s side—who sit in the top flight relegation zone—will start as underdogs in that, but they more than deserve their place after dispatching Normanton with a 58-32 victory at home in the second leg. Paul Hope (14+1) and recent signing at second string, Erik Francke (9+3), both scored maximums in the win which took them through by 24 on aggregate, with the pair combining for 5-1’s in heats one, six and ten.

At 39-51 Wentworth’s win at Coventry this week was their biggest away from home in their two seasons in the top flight. It’s a victory which sees them enter the final six rounds of the campaign just three points off leaders Leeds, who they host next, a five point win or better will see them move level with the Jaguars. In-form guest rider George Stevens (14) raced to four wins for the Trappers—who have now won all four of the league meetings they have ridden at the Earnsdon Arena—the fourth returned in a last heat 5-1 scored alongside Magnar Sobczak (13+1). Stevens had also won the other 5-1 scored by Wentworth in the meeting, that coming in the opening race, which took the visitors into a lead they would hold for the remainder of the meeting. As well as their trip to Wentworth next week, Leeds also host second placed Stowmarket, they Witches go into the top of the table clash at the Hawthorne having failed to win any of their previous 27 league meetings there!

With no away wins recorded throughout the second tier the top two of Linlithgow and Runcorn moved another week closer to promotion. Both still have a shot of a trophy double, but it’s the Lions who are big favourites to achieve it after winning the first leg of the Division Two Cup Final between the pair, 57-33. Reserve Charlie Jenkins (11+2) tallied double figures for the first time this season in the rout, the 22 year old involved in three of the six 5-1’s scored by the hosts, as was second string Jake Rahman (12+2).

A second home defeat in five has left Hale nervously looking over their shoulders in the division three promotion race. The long time pacesetters are now second, just four points clear of fourth placed Swindon in the standings with a trip to current leaders Mid Cams to come next week. More concerning was that their latest defeat came against bottom side Bolsover (42-48), who hadn’t scored a point away from home until the meeting, in which new Tigers signing Ludomir Kan top scored with 12, which included three in the matching winning last heat 4-2.

Five GP’s into this years series and we have five different winners. Pila’s Belal Fabian (13) the latest to earn success following a race-off victory over Piotr Slusarski in the Finnish round in Pori, Cradley’s Mark Jolly finished a point behind the pair in third. Slusarski still leads the World Championship standings by two points from Fabian, top Brit’ Aaron Macaulay (9) remains third overall, but has slipped seven points off the pace.

Sami Grondahl (13)—who moved from Normanton to Wimbledon for £200,000 in pre-season after a successful loan spell in SL30—beat Claygate’s English starlet Thomas Sullivan in a race-off to win his WU21 semi-final at Cradley Heath this week. The success is the Norwegian’s first in nine career WSO meetings. His Wimbledon team mate Nikhil Levin—last years WU21 runner-up—recovered from a heat three exclusion to qualify seventh.