A gamble on team selection paid off for Craig Dickson as his Birmingham (21) side landed the first silverware of the new season. Aarno Raisanen was drafted in to replace Tim Koch as one half of the Lyons duo for this years Club Pairs Final at Newquay, Koch had taken the bronze medal alongside number one Wlod Szczepanski in the competition last season and helped assure qualification through both the first and second rounds of the current campaign. Dickson though went with his in-form pre-season £100,000 signing at second string Raisanen, in a bid to turn a third place finish in the second round into a top step finish on the podium. And it worked. Not that any of the Lyons fans were congratulating the move after heat one of the final, Birmingham conceding a 5-1 to Merseyside (17) in that very first race of the meeting. Szczepanski and Raisanen would be on the right end of a 5-1 score three races later, Manor (18) on track for the first time on the night, but their challenge for early points was quickly ended by a retirement for Waclaw Kozlowski. That would make a big difference in a tight final, with the top six finishers going on to be separated by just four points! Raisanen added to his heat four win with victories in heats eight and 11 against the pairings from Cradley Heath (19) and Altrincham (18) respectively, but it was his second in a 5-1 scored against Dumpton in heat 15 that made the Lyons big favourites to take the silverware. Birmingham finished their night with a 3-3 against Don Valley (20), who would go on to fail to overhaul the Lyons total in the final race. Birmingham were Pairs Champions.

Manor’s second away win of SL25 came in the Division One Cup, one of three competitions they won last season. The 48-42 success over Laceby renews the Miracles hopes of reaching the semi-finals once again after the disappointment of last weeks draw at Denaby, still though they’ll need to beat Don Valley in their remaining meeting and other results to go their way if they are to make it to the knockout stage. Federico Castellini (15) scored his first maximum of the year for the Miracles in the victory, secured with a last heat 5-1 from the Italian and his number one, Waclaw Kozlowski (12+1). In the league it was ten home wins out of ten for division one sides as plenty made changes ahead of the new GSA’s. Bottom side Altrincham secured their first points of the season with a 48-41 victory over Southampton, Panthers riders winning an impressive 13 of the 15 heats, five of which went the way of unbeaten Kiwi, Thomas Davis (15).

Buxton have gone top of division two for the first time this season after coming from behind to win at Sankey. A second successive paid double figure return from reserve Liam Doherty (10+1) the highlight in the 40-50 win for the Braves, his start of season form takes him up to heat leader in Martin Harvey’s side. Buxton scored three 5-1’s in the closing five races at the Sharks, but it was Doherty’s second in a penultimate heat 4-2 reversal which secured Harvey’s side their third successive win at the venue. Buxton had also early won at Tottenham (44-46) in the Division Two Cup, Doherty (7) again amongst the heat winners for the Braves as they made it three out of three in this years competition to all but seal their place in the semi-finals.

Brighton are up to third in division two after they a late comeback saw them nab the points at Somerset, 44-46. Eight down after heat six, Glenn Martin’s side took the points and the lead for the first time on the night with a final race 4-2, the unbeaten Dale Bailey (17+1) winning that as Zsolt Mezo (10+1) picked up a gift of a third following Arkadiusz Mitura’s (8) exclusion.

A second away win of the campaign has taken Whiteley two points clear at the top of division three. At 39-51 it was their biggest yet on the road in their three years in the sport, the record breaker coming at Lye, where 21 year old reserve Fortinbras Andersen (8+2) impressed with a paid double figure haul, he involved in both the 5-1’s scored by the visitors. Earlier the Heathens had beaten California on the road in the Division Three Cup, that despite falling eight behind in the first three races. Following a fall in heat one, Indrek Ranikov (13+2) was unbeaten in his remaining five heats at the Poppies, finishing second in heat six and 11 5-1’s, before claiming decisive heat 13 and 15 maximums alongside Adam Roberts (11+2). In the other half of the draw Dudley made it two wins out of two in the competition win an eight point victory at Border.

Don Valley’s Olesia Kowalczyk (15)—runner-up in last years WU21 final—scored a maximum to claim his first career WSO victory in the WU19 semi final at Ramsgate this week. The 18 year old Pole topped the standings by four points. Hertford’s Thiassi Michaelsen (12) won the second of the ties in Horsens.