BUXTON ‘Ductair’ Bulls completed their season with a defeat against the Leicester Lions Cubs on Sunday afternoon at Hi-Edge Raceway.
The Bulls went behind in heat two with a 5-1 from Eli Meadows and Emerson Betty; a series of drawn heats then ensued before Alfie Bowtell and Arran Butcher gained a 4-2 over Ryan Ingram, leaving the Bulls trailing 17-19.
Veteran Ben Morley and Seth Norman restored the Lions’ four-point advantage in the following heat, and the Cubs extended their lead in heat ten as Morley and Norman combined for a 5-1 over Bowtell to leave the Bulls trailing 26-34.
Buxton were not finished, though, as Jack Roberts and Bailey Fellows snatched a 5-1 over Meadows, leaving the home side once again trailing by four points, and they reduced the deficit to just two points in heat thirteen as Bowtell and Roberts gained a 4-2 over Ingram to leave the score 38-40 going into the final two races.
The Lions Cubs, though, completed the meeting with two 5-1 heat wins to run out winners 40-50 to the visitors.
Team manager Laurence Rogers commented, “We battled hard throughout the meeting and unfortunately came up short in the end. Ben Morley and Ryan Ingram scored 16 points each, and they looked impressive.
“Alfie (Bowtell) rode with a hand/wrist injury, and he rode well, along with Jack (Roberts) and the rest all chipped in, but we just couldn’t get our noses in front on the day.
“On the plus side we’ve done ourselves no harm; we’ve got Buxton back racing here at Hi-Edge Raceway, and we are back next season whatever format the league takes and roll on 2027.”
BUXTON 32:
Alfie Bowtell 2, 3, 1, 3, = 9
Arran Butcher 1′, 1, 3, F, = 5+1
Luke Harris 0, 2, 1′, 2, = 5+1
Charlie Southwick (G) 3, 1′, 2, FD, R, = 6+1
Jack Roberts 2, 2, 3, 1, 1, = 9
Bailey Fellows (G) 1, 0, 2′, 1, = 4+1
Jack Shimelt 0, 1′, 0, 1′, = 2+2
Leicester won the bonus point 69-111
PHOTO CREDIT: IAN CHARLES
