Barker back for The Gladiators

Plymouth Gladiators are delighted to welcome Truro born club stalwart Benjamin Barker back for the 2025 Championship season.

Barker will be competing in his 22nd season in the sport, having started his career as a teenager in 2003 with the Cornish team Trelawny. His career has included spells at some of the major UK clubs including Coventry, Ipswich, Peterborough and Glasgow.

Director Mark Phillips commented;

“Ben will start the season on an average that belies the immense talent he still has. He can be a match winner at The Coliseum on any occasion and is still a real asset to the Club with his wide experience of all of the away tracks we’ll visit. His 2024 campaign was truncated with niggling injuries and a lack of track time, which resulted in a lack of sharpness that he would normally have by riding in the Premiership and Championship Leagues.

We will be working hard with Ben to help him get fully race fit and to offer him as much track time as possible, to get him back to the sort of genuine Heat Leader form that we know he is still capable of. The significant alterations we made to the track last winter, and further alterations we are making this winter will only boost his all action style which our supporters love.

Ben won’t have the added pressure of being our number one highest average rider next season, and I think the reduced pressure on him will be a major boost and make him one of the most dangerous riders in the league, with a real opportunity to increase the average he starts on significantly.

We are well advanced in negotiations to sign our final two riders, and are just waiting for a few logistical factors to fall into place in those pursuits, and we expect to have more news early in the New Year.

In the meantime on behalf of everyone at Plymouth Speedway may I wish all of our Sponsors, supporters, track staff and speedway supporters everywhere and very Happy Christmas and New Year.’