Out of the cup but a great week for Runcorn in their fight against the drop. Having opened the latest round of league fixtures with a 58-32 win over Wimbledon—their biggest ever victory in the top flight—they went on to beat another of their relegation rivals Eastbourne on the road. After 30 straight years in the top flight, the record seven-times champions find themselves in a real battle for survival at the highest level following the 44-46 defeat, a defeat which came after they suffered a rare 5-1 reversal in heat 13, the usually reliable pairing of Stig Martinson (15+1) and Eric Borsheim (7) beaten by Frank Klein (12+1) and Paul Hope (10+2). The same visiting pairing completed the success with the minor places behind Martinson in the last, Eastbourne having taken it into the decider with a 5-1 of their own in the penultimate race of the night. Eastbourne drop into the bottom three, a point clear of Runcorn in ninth, Brickhill up to seventh—two points better off than the Seagulls—having picked up an away point for a draw on their trip to Coalville, a meeting in which 19 year old reserve Joseph Hicks impressed with a score of 10+2 from his five rides.

Rubert Zmolek (13) went three years without winning a WSO meeting following his second WU21 title back in SL29. He’s now won two in less than three months, the Slovakian adding success in his Continental semi-final earlier in the year with victory in the Czech GP in Prague. The 23 year old has been with Wimbledon since signing for the club for £700,000 back in SL27, it’s been a steady rise up the Werewolves ranks for the big money buy, he becoming their number one for the first time earlier in SL32, before going on to qualify for the GP’s for the first time. It’s taken him just two rounds to earn his first victory, he taking the title in Prague by a point from Fiske Wahlquist (12), Aaron Macaulay (11) finished a point further back in third. Wahlquist now leads the World Championship standings by three points from opening round winner Piotr Slusarski, who scored just eight this week.

Greenhill reach the two-thirds mark of the campaign in a season high second in division two. A 40-49 victory at Wolverhampton helped take the Lurchers above Huntingdon in the standings and to within points difference of leaders Dudley, Coventry—who won their latest fixture at Mid Cams, 43-47—complete a top four separated by just three points. 19 year old reserve Marius Morstad (7) was amongst the heat winners for the visitors, as they made it five points from their last four meeting away meetings.