2019

The Jarvis Nuclear Gladiators failed to land a blow when they travelled to Leicester on Tuesday (July 23rd) for their National League fixture against the Lion Cubs.

The Gladiators struggled to find a consistent form from the start. Team Manager Mattie Bates said “the long and short of it is Leicester gated and we didn’t.

We need to now really re focus on finding consistency at home from our meetings. Home wins are a must and picking up the odd points away are vital if we are to push for a top 4 playoff spot”.

The Gladiators will now look to finding some form tonight at the Isle of Wight (July 25th) and on Friday (July 26th) in the first 2 legs of the Silver Ski Fours tournament.

Bates added “there are some top National League riders lined up for this tournament such as Andres Rowe, Luke Bowen, Jack Thomas so it should create some good exciting racing”.

With the news that Nathan Stoneman has an ongoing injury the Gladiators promotion were quick to find an injury replacement for him, bringing on former Devon Demon Luke Chessell.

Plymouth Co Promoter and Team Manager Mattie Bates said “Nathan picked up a knee injury earlier this season and has been riding through the pain barrier non stop and in this sport as much physical stress as riding with an injury can put on your body it can also start affecting you mentally.

Hopefully with some time off to rest his injury and some time to figure everything out Nathan will return in flying form”.

The promotion were quick to sign Chessell who Bates said has all the makings of being a rider to fear in the National League, Bates added “Luke has experience on the Plymouth track after a season with the Devon Demons in 2014 which will hopefully help him settle into the team a little quicker.

Luke has by no means had a fair start to the season, hopefully this will be just what he needs to re-start his 2019 season”.

This Friday will also see the return on David Wallinger who suffered a concussion in his debut race earlier this season against the Somerset Rebels.

Bates said “David had the worst possible luck a rider could have in his debut meeting, but he’s a rider that won’t let a knock back like that stop him.

I feel bringing in David was a great chance for the Gladiators to strengthen up in a bid to hit the National League playoffs”.

Both David and Luke will race up against their old club this Friday at the Coliseum when the Gladiators host the Stoke Potters in the 2nd leg of the Knockout Cup quarter finals.

It was a disappointing and disheartening loss for the Plymouth Gladiators Friday night (5th July), as the Kent Kings took victory in a last heat decider winning 44-46.

The Gladiators had a hard task ahead of them from the start with running the rider replacement facility for injured David Wallinger, but then the Gladiators suffered another blow when Nathan Stoneman was ruled out of the meeting after a heat 7 crash.

Team Manager Mattie Bates said “losing Nathan was a massive blow for us, the track seemed to be catching some riders out and unfortunately that included Nathan.

5 riders against 7 was always going to be a tough task, but Ben Wilson, Adam Extance and Adam Sheppard really stepped up scoring 35 out of the 44 points between the three of them”.

Bates admitted his team really need to regroup and start to turn their season around if they have any hopes of making the National League playoffs.

Bates said “the curse of last season seems to have stayed with us, it seems every other meeting something is going against us. I couldn’t be prouder of the teams efforts and we’ve been really unlucky with some decisions but we need to find a little extra something from somewhere and just push on a little more”.

The Jarvis Nuclear Gladiators fell short of a home victory last Friday, when the reigning Championship fours champions, the Somerset Rebels, beat the Gladiators by 1 point in a last heat decider at the Coliseum.

The inter league challenge produced some exciting racing and saw former Plymouth (Devils) favourite Ben Barker go through the card unbeaten and claim an impressive 15 point maximum.

Team Manager Mattie Bates said “the meeting was 1st class entertainment from start to finish and even though we lost, we lost with a lot of pride”.

At one point the Gladiators gained a 5 point lead over the Rebels, but in the closing stages of the meeting the Rebels muscled their way back into the meeting to take the victory.

Bates said “we were always going to be up against it, with the Rebels being a very successful team in the championship and also having huge success in the premiership in recent years.

I think what was important for us as a club was attracting old Plymouth fans back in and introducing some new fans through the gates.

The National League is a great product and I feel we showed that last Friday”. Bates couldn’t praise the Gladiators enough for their efforts and added “it was only a season or two ago that Somerset had former world champion Jason Doyle riding for them.

Even though Somerset have since dropped down a league, they are still a league above us and a successful one at that.

I believe Friday we proved it’s not the dog in the fight, but the fight in the dog”. The Gladiators next home meeting is this Friday (July 5th) as they return to National League action against the Kent Kings at the Coliseum.

Tonight (Friday June 21st) the Jarvis Nuclear Gladiators will take on their closest neighbours in the National League, the Isle of Wight Warriors.

The Gladiators have already secured 2 victories over on the island this season but will be looking to get their first home win over the warriors this evening. Co promoter Mattie Bates said “it’s always a great meeting when we face off against the warriors home or away, so I can’t see tonight being any different.

The Gladiators have been gaining in confidence each meeting over the few weeks so no doubt they will want to put in a good shift for a home crowd”. 

Monday of this week saw the Gladiators travel to Sittingbourne to take on the Kent Kings in what Bates described as a great meeting between two great teams. Bates said “we were really unlucky at Kent.

With 3 heats to go we were only 5 points down but unfortunately just ran out of steam in the last 3 heats. I was still really proud of the team, Kent is never an easy track to go to but the lads put on a great display.”

Richard Andrews led the way with 10 points backed up by Adam Shepherd scoring 8+1 and Adam Extance scoring 7.

Bates added “after the disappointment of what should of been last weeks meeting hopefully tonight will be a step in the right direction as far as track conditions go.” Gates open at 5:45pm and the first race starting at 7:15pm.

Plymouth Gladiators: Ben Wilson, Adam Extance, Scott Campos, Richard Andrews, Nathan Stoneman, Jamie Bursill, Adam Sheppard.

Isle of Wight Warriors: Georgie Wood, Chris Widman, Danno Verge, Ryan Terry Daley, Ben Morley, Connor King, Chad Wirtzfeld.

It’s been a successful week for the Plymouth Jarvis Nuclear Gladiators in the build up to their first National League home fixture of the 2019 season.

The Gladiators started their week off with an away win at the Isle of Wight Tuesday when they beat the Warriors 42-48 and bagged themselves 3 vital National League points. Ben Wilson led the Gladiators to the away win with a 15 point maximum, with each member of the team backing him up with all scoring their average or more. 

The Gladiators then looked to Wednesday when they faced off against the Somerset Rebels in a the first of two legs inter league challenge only being beaten by 2 points after 15 heats.

Co Promoter Mattie Bates said “it’s been a super successful week so far and I couldn’t be more proud of the boys. An away win on the island and narrow defeat at Somerset will give us the confidence to hopefully bag ourselves a home win and 3 more points in the league standings”. 

Tonight the Gladiators will take on the Leicester Lion Cubs, and will see the return of former Plymouth (Devil) and current track record holder Ellis Perks. Bates said: “tonight isn’t the easiest of meetings.

Leicester have a good team and I’m sure they will be looking for an away win, but I have the upmost faith in the team and believe we can get the win”. Gates open at 5:45pm with the first race starting at 7:15pm. 

Plymouth Gladiators: Ben Wilson, Adam Extance, Scott Campos, Richard Andrews, Nathan Stoneman, Jamie Bursill, Adam Sheppard. 

Leicester Lion Cubs: Ellis Perks, Ryan McDonald, Luke Ruddick (Rider Replacement) Danyon Hume, Dan Thompson, Joe Thompson.

After a hectic week resurfacing the racetrack it has come to a disappointing conclusion that our trusted British weather has let us down, the forecast for Friday has been dire all week , however there is no let up and the forecast remains WET. We do apologise to all the supporters for another week with no Speedway. I hope we can gain your following at the Isle of Wight on Tuesday and Somerset speedway on Wednesday

Due to the track needing the surface replacing tonight meeting 31st has been cancelled

There are many reasons why we have taken this action

Track Conditions:

So for anyone who has been to Plymouth this season will known we’ve had an ongoing issue with dust and a lack of suitable track surface.

By no means is the Plymouth track dangerous but it isn’t ideal. This week Mark has been watering and ripping the track up and adding more dirt to the current track surface.

For anyone that knows anything about track preparation, you know it’s not just a case of chucking some shale on the track, it’s a slow process and must be done correctly to ensure the new material binds with the current track surface.

Plymouth is not the only club to have suffered from this issue, Poole, Swindon to name a couple have had similar issues this season and they are clubs with more financial backing, racing in the top league of British speedway, so let’s remember we are only a National League club working with the best available stuff we can get our hands on.

Rider Safety:

Rider safety is the most important thing as it should be at any meeting. As I said the track isn’t dangerous but can be a tad sketchy at times with burms and ruts appearing and even at points the base of the track being visible.

To race this Friday would only cause more damage to the track, it’s not sprint it’s a marathon so we must ensure every effort can be made.

Myself and Mark want Plymouth to be an enjoyable race track, for not just our team, but for any away rider or second half rider that should visit.

Again, taking riders safety into account, the league has a lot of new inexperienced riders who are making there debut to National League not to mention our Development League meetings in which the Exeter Falcons race and no rider is going to learn on a track in that condition.

Let’s not forget what happened with Stoke last season and not to mention Jason Doyle made comments on track conditions this week and that’s a former world champion.

Spectators Enjoyment:

Your enjoyment and overall experience is really important to us, and watching a meeting with clouds of dust and minimal racing lines doesn’t sound like much fun for any speedway fan and it’s definitely not something we want to make a regular occurrence.

Also again taking into account rider safety, who really wants to watch riders sliding off and losing control of their bikes due to poor visibility and track conditions. So it’s important to us that you get to have the best possible experience you can.

Speedway as a Product:

Taking everything into account that I’ve already said it is no secret that British speedway has been in somewhat of a decline but the racing is no doubt as exciting as it’s ever been.

In order for the sport to grow into the mainstream again it’s important that the product is promoted to the best of any individual promoters ability and making sure tracks are safe for riders and suitable for spectators viewing.

So I’ve said my bit and do with how you wish, but remember Rome wasn’t built in a day.

It was a disappointing night last night (17th May) for the Plymouth Jarvis Nuclear Gladiators with them suffering their first home loss against the Mildenhall Tigers. 

The frustration started before the meeting had even begun when the Gladiators were deemed unable to use rider replacement facility for the absence of Scott Campos.

Gladiators team manager Mattie Bates said: “unfortunately, this season the regulations have changed regarding the rider replacement rule. This obviously meant we were left without Scott and unable to fill his position for the meeting meaning the team were left lacking in strength.” 

With Scott Campos absent and the Gladiators unable to use rider replacement it meant captain Richard Andrews was left to carry heats 3 and 5 alone as well as Sheldon Davies in heat 12.

Bates added: “trying to take the positives out of what was somewhat a negative meeting, the boys gave it their best shot knowing from the get go they were going to be up against it. We also had a bit of bad luck with Richard coming down in heat 9 and Nathan Stoneman coming down in heat 15, which added to the frustration.

The highlight of the night was definitely heat 8 when it saw the least experienced riders of the team take a 5-1 with an excellent display of team riding from Adam Sheppherd and Adam Extance.” 

The Gladiators are now looking to move forward as they travel to Belle Vue on Thursday (23rd May) to compete in National League action. Bates said: “obviously we will be looking to put this meeting behind us, regroup and move on.

It’s still very early in the season and a lot can happen so it’s extremely important for the team, the management and the supporters to remain positive and continue to support their club. Together we will continue to move forward as the season progresses.”

It has been a frustrating couple of weeks for the Plymouth Jarvis Nuclear Gladiators with the last two home meetings being called due to bad weather. The Gladiators were set to take on the Leicester Lion Cubs last Friday (May 10th). 

Co Promoter Mattie Bates said “calling off a meeting is never an easy decision, but bad weather was due to come in right around the time the meeting would have been starting so myself and Mark Phillips (Gladiators Promoter) had to take a lot into account.

We had such a successful first home meeting that had really positive feedback but we must always take into account riders safety and giving them the best race track possible.

Obviously we also take into account the supports and we want to give you the best possible experience and value for money and standing in the rain watching a race of follow the leader isn’t a great advert for speedway in general”. 

The frustration continued when the Gladiators travelled to Kent on Monday (May 20th) and competed in what can only be described as “a great meeting with poor refereeing” said Bates. “The score line didn’t reflect on what a great meeting it was.

Unfortunately every decision that could have gone against us did and every decision that could have gone against Kent didn’t. The lads left Kent feeling very disheartened and hard done by, but what’s done is done and now we move on as a team and redeem it”. 

The Gladiators take on the Mildenhall Tigers this Friday in National Trophy action at the Coliseum.