jbell1995

Plymouth; 1 Kye Thomson (G) 2 Ben Barker (C) 3 Lasse Fredriksen 4 Joe Thompson 5 Scott Nicholls 6 Alfie Bowtell 7 Tom Spencer Poole; 1 Richard Lawson 2 Tobias Thomsen 3 Lewis Kerr 4 Zach Cook (C) 5 Anders Rowe 6 Paul Starke 7 William Cairns

With Arran Butcher sidelined for the rest of the season, the Gladiators have just announced the permanent signing of Tom Spencer, who was very impressive against Oxford a few weeks ago at home to be the new No.7 - He will go straight into the side for the weekend

This ought to be a cracking night in Plymouth. Expecting another big crowd with great weather. Under 16's go free and the best 'Gladiator' fancy dress wins a centre green experience. Plymouth have released an update on Ben Barker today. Nothing is broken, still in severe pain with limited movement and they believe it was a dislocation. He will work closely with Michal Halambiec from B3&Fit with the hope of getting back on the bike for Saturday evening!

I'm speechless but so proud. What an unbelievable effort by the Gladiators. Let's not lose sight of the fact they were without Alfie Bowtell to start with. Ben having to withdraw very early into the meeting but they kept going and showed unreal fight for the badge. To push a full strength Pirates side that close at home, something we haven't done for a very long time shows just how good a group this side is. It's going to be some night at Plymouth on Saturday where crowds have been big and loud all season. It's kids fancy dress night too so expecting a good atmosphere. Guest choices for Plymouth will be key here but what an opportunity in front of them to get another 3pts. The playoffs might be a long way off but there's life in their chances for sure. Looking forward to covering this one on Gladiators TV, hope those who can't make it enjoy our coverage of what should be a cracking night of speedway - as it has been so many times in Plymouth this year already

Dan is an excellent choice of guest and certainly changes some perceptions of how competitive Plymouth will be here. Darryl will obviously be out to prove a point here and put himself in the shop window for the rest of the season and beyond. It's going to be an interesting week with these two going head to head.

According to the Pirates website: Poole (TM Neil Middleditch) 1 Richard Lawson 2 Tobias Thomsen 3 Lewi Kerr 4 Zach Cook (Capt) 5 Anders Rowe 6 Paul Starke 7 William Cairns Plymouth (TM Garry May) 1 RR 2 Lasse Fredriksen 3 Ben Barker (Capt) 4 Joe Thompson 5 Scott Nicholls 6 Alfie Bowtell 7 Max Perry (Guest)

Whilst I don't know the full in's and out's of it, when I asked Garry post Wednesday's trip to Oxford when he came over to us supporters about operating RR, he did say if he did use the rider replacement facility then Klindt would receive a ban

Plymouth couldn't take RR for Klindt, had to be 75% of his average hence Tobias coming in to guest.

Large travelling contingent from Plymouth heading up for this one. Looking forward to it. Always a warm welcome at Sandy Lane and great fun. Full minibus and car full of just Bar Bandits heading there along with the other hardy, loyal Gladiator fans that always make the trip.

Yes, 18 members of the Bar Bandits left either at 6am Thursday or early yesterday morning for the 2025 Northern Tour. There was also a few other hardy souls who follow the Gladiators far and wide in attendance too 👏🏼👏🏼 Bar Bandits Had hospitality at Edinburgh and were made to feel very welcome by the club. Unfortunately Berwick today is off and they’re now assembling for the long trip home, hopefully be home before 7pm! We are on duty again at another club who always extend warm hospitality to us in Oxford on Wednesday evening. Minibus is full along with a car heading to Sandy Lane to get behind Garry and the team once again! Massive thank you to Edinburgh speedway for being so accommodating to the Gladiators supporters. Bandits had a great night and hopefully put a smile on one or two faces! All being well, see you all in 2026 at Armadale 💙💛

Frustrating night for the Gladiators where it all got away from them in the first 5 heats. Nicholls rusty and short of a bit of confidence, he said so himself post meeting early on but those last three rides behind Nicolai he looked better. That Heat 15 ride against Paco was superb. He'll come on plenty for that tonight and you'd like to think he'll be a different rider again on Wednesday. Fair play to the Monarchs. Outclassed Plymouth in the first half of the meeting. Gladiators kept fighting but were swimming against the tide. Little room for error now for the rest of the season for the playoff hopes. Looking forward to travelling to Oxford on Wednesday to get behind the team

Ought to be a good meeting this. Hopefully Nicholls is in good enough shape to fire the Gladiators to a vital victory. Hook is a good choice of guest. Bowtell down to reserve could make or break the meeting you feel Fancy Plymouth to nick this...

Massive fortnight coming up. Friday - Edinburgh (A) - Leading by 4 on aggregate Saturday - Berwick (A) - First leg Wednesday - Oxford (A) - First leg Saturday - Oxford (H) - Return leg Every possibility the Gladiators could find themselves in an enviable position by the time Workington visit at the start of August

New 1-7 for those unaware; Scott Nicholls Lasse Fredriksen Joe Thompson Ben Barker Nicolai Klindt Alfie Bowtell Aaran Butcher

Daniel Klima suffered a broken leg in Germany yesterday. Was announced to the crowd during the Centurions clash last night. If Plymouth didn’t have bad luck, they’d have no luck at all

Thought last night was a really entertaining meeting. Plymouth showcasing some real fight and determination. Klindt, Thompson and Klima all having good nights. Felt Bowtell’s endeavours were worth more than the 4+1 he collected. Tobias Thomsen was an inspired guest choice by Garry and was thoroughly entertaining. He really does have a swashbuckling style doesn’t he? It just underlined however what Garry said on the latest No Brakes No Fear podcast that the team are one heat leader short. It’s a huge weekend coming up now with the Northern Tour, holding a 2pt lead going to Edinburgh and then the first of what’s likely to be two tight, competitive clashes with Berwick. Overall, damage ultimately down here in Devon but not for the first time this season, Plymouth showing they are capable of holding their own and giving teams a good run for their money. Scunny are a decent side. Worrall and Allen excellent riders. Been a fan of Jake Allen for a few years, although things didn’t go his way last night.

Excellent video here from 'Karlito' on YouTube released this evening. I'd suggest everyone gives it a watch.

What's frustrating on here is there's not one post giving Plymouth any credit for giving that KO Cup tie a proper go. Everyone wrote us off heading into Saturday, we got a deserved 8pt lead, could've been a couple more. Heading into last night, everyone (Including some of us) expected Poole to just power away and win it by 8+ on aggregate. A comfortable night everyone was saying... Plymouth had 7 heat winners - I can't remember the last time we went to Wimborne Road and achieved that? Whilst yes, on the night a 14pt win is a comfortable evening, the Gladiators have made that a proper test for the Pirates. We're starting to see signs in my opinion that the Gladiators are going to ruffle a few a feathers in the league campaign this year and aren't quite the pushovers everyone assumed they would be. When you think Alfie Bowtell and Lasse Fredrikesen, both have started this season well had just 5 points between them, it could've been a lot closer than it was. Congratulations to Poole, good meeting last night, best of luck for the rest of the KO Cup, bring on the league fixtures now!

I think this is incredibly harsh. I was on co-commentary last night and whilst I thought the first 4/5 races offered little in the way of riders being able to fight through the pack, from Heat 6 onwards the meeting came alive and the banking and dirt on Bends 3/4 offered some great racing. Ben Barker fighting with Anders Rowe, Harris going from last to second, Cluff going around both Pirates in Heat 12, Lasse Fredriksen v Zach Cook just to name a few. There was excellent racing as the night went on and it was fair racing from all riders. Plenty of space given but all desperate for points in what turned out to be another really competitive fixture between the two sides, a thought that must give the Gladiators management hope about what is possible this season. Can't argue that Gate 4 is proving tricky, I believe that's now 2 meetings without a win from it but Riders did make it work at times picking up points. All credit must go to Mark Phillips, the track staff, the referee and both teams for getting on with things last night. As I interviewed Garry May at the end of the fixture it just started to rain then and it came down quickly! There was an excellent, interactive crowd there last night, great noise. Brilliant support as always from the Pirates too who made their voices heard when they could. It's a shame that Gladiators couldn't take a 10+pt lead into Wednesday but bigger picture, they're looking decent this season and it would appear that Oxford was first night blues and Glasgow was just being outclassed by their Top 5 - something I believe a lot of teams will find this season.

Plymouth have posted to say the fixture this evening is ON. It's been a torrid 24 hours weather wise. Still damp this morning but they seem upbeat and confident. Obviously plenty of people on here keen for this fixture...

Here we go then, the new season kicks off at the Colisseum with the visit of Oxford. Always a good fixture between these two clubs. Interesting to see how the track rides after the winter renovations. Back straight widened by 2m so should provide more space for better racing. Interesting to see how this Plymouth side goes, I've got a little feeling we might be changing a view early season opinions as the year goes on

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Ben is an entertainer. I love having a chat with him on Gladiators TV because you're always learning something. He's passionate about the club and will be desperate to right some wrongs of recent seasons. As you point out, his average has dropped but surely, of all the riders in the league, he's got most scope to improve his average? If he stays injury free, I can see him putting two points on his average at least by the end of the season

What would his Championship average be? I'm not sure what the conversion is PL > CL? Maths was never my strong point...

? Ben Barker 5.87 (Presumably) Joe Thompson 5.63 ? Alfie Bowtell 5.07 Mitchell Cluff 5.00 Lasse Fredriksen 4.67 Total 26.24 Remaining: 13.76 Not too bad a position for the Gladiators promotion to be in IF they can find the right number one but those are in short supply. Likely they'll need to be looking overseas you'd imagine? There's scope for improvement on Barker and Fredriksen's averages for sure. Bowtell should be able to improve somewhat but even if there's a slow start for him, he drops to reserve and he'll be strong there. Thompson is the enigma, can he improve his 5.63? He's young so he's only going to get better and goes well at Home. Cluff, only time will tell but having watched some of the clips from the SA solo finals, he can gate!