The Buxton DUCTAIR Bulls (in association with CRITCHLOW PLANT) continue their warm-up for the league campaign, staging the first leg of the Derbyshire- Leicestershire Challenge Cup on Sunday at 3 pm.

The original first leg at Leicester fell victim to the weather with a rain storm at the meeting start time, so Buxton will now stage the first leg with the return on Sunday, May 31st at Leicester.

The Bulls are without two of their side, with a rearranged Championship meeting at Workington against Berwick taking precedence, meaning skipper Jack Smith and Jamie Etherington are in opposition in Cumbria.

Bulls boss Laurence Rogers brings in local lad Jack Roberts, dubbed the “comeback king”, and uses the rider replacement rule to cover Jack Smith’s rides with every Bull eligible to take a ride.

With the team’s seventh position not fully sorted, Alex Spooner steps in and, based on the averages, he goes into the main body of the team and Luke Harris, who scored 8 last week, drops to reserve, giving the side strength in depth.

They will need that as Leicester have put together a strong side who will push the Bulls all the way, and that will be good for the fans as they will witness a close encounter as both sides aim to capture a good lead for the second leg.

Experienced campaigner Ben Morley leads the side with solid backing from a few riders who also ply their trade in the Championship in Tom Spencer (Plymouth), Freddy Hodder(Glasgow) and Ryan Ingram (Scunthorpe), whilst Max Perry was at Glasgow last year. At reserve the JCB Lion Cubs track 15-year-old Seth Norman, who scored an impressive paid 7 on his debut last week. Former Birmingham MDL rider Eli Meadows completes their side.

The meeting also launches the 2026 Midland Development League, which is being run solely out of Buxton, with four nomadic clubs involved. The opening clash sees the WOLPACK SPEEDWAY SUPPORT TEAM Wolves take on the “THE CREWE SPEEDWAY COLLECTION” Kings in a four-man, six-heat encounter. Additionally, there are three 125cc Demo races for the youngsters in between the MDL heats.

Gates open at 1 pm with inside car parking to watch from the cars on a first-come, first-served basis with a £2 car park fee.

Admission prices: Adults £15, Concessions 65 and over £13(with proof) £13, Students 17-22(with proof) £10, Children and Juniors 16 and under FREE, Programmes £3. Gate is CASH ONLY.

Advance tickets can be booked using the ref: https://www.trybooking.com/uk/GGOU

Teams :
BUXTON: 1. ALFIE BOWTELL (C), 2. ARRAN BUTCHER, 3. JACK ROBERTS, 4. ALEX SPOONER. 5. Rider Replacement [JACK SMITH]. 6. LUKE HARRIS. 7. JACK SHIMELT
LEICESTER: 1. BEN MORLEY, 2. TOM SPENCER, 3, MAX PERRY, 4, RYAN INGRAM, 5. FREDDY HODDER, 6. ELI MEADOWS, 7, SETH NORMAN