Western Morning News (Saturday)
Crump agrees to join Plymouth speedway
PLYMOUTH Gladiators have added the ‘wow’ factor to their team with the sensational signing of three times World Champion Jason Crump.
Plymouth promoter, Mark Phillips, has vowed that the club are ready to make some big noises in the sport and has signalled that ambition by signing one of the real legends of world speedway.
“I want everyone in speedway to be talking about Plymouth,” he said. “I have big ambitions for the club.
“The signing of Jason Crump and Bjarne Pedersen shows our intention to establish the Plymouth Gladiators in the Championship League.”
Crump is not only the biggest signing in Plymouth Speedway history, but also in the Championship league as never before has a multi–Individual World Champion subsequently graced the second tier of Britain’s domestic leagues.
Following the capture of Danish ex-Grand Prix rider Bjarne Pedersen earlier this week, Phillips was understandably delighted at also securing the services of the talented Aussie.
“It was an ambitious move to attract Jason to Plymouth. He has been a pleasure to deal with,” Phillips said. |”He will be basing himself and his family in the South West during the summer and I’m sure sports fans will want to see the spectacle of racing that the Plymouth track offers.”
Crump has done it all in world speedway. As well as his three world individual titles, he was World Under-21 champion in 1995, has won three World Cups as part of the Australian team, as well as numerleague and individual titles worldwide. After making a successful return to the sport in individual events in Australia, he made the shock decision to return to UK speedway.
Crump finished third in the British Final at Belle Vue in September 2020, one of the very few meetings held last year along with the two fixtures Plymouth were able to complete.
Crump has also agreed terms with Ipswich for the 2021 season to ride in the Premier League as well as Plymouth in the Championship. Having not ridden domestically in the UK since 2009 speedway fans will no doubt be thrilled to see Jason back on home tracks.
It will be a busy summer for Crump, who was born in Bristol when his father, Phil Crump, was riding for Newport. He will also be supporting his son, Seth, who is making a name for himself in British Superbikes and will be competing in the UK this year.
There are a number of commercial opportunities a World Champion could add to the kudos of local businesses alongside the Plymouth Gladiators, to raise their profile locally, nationally and globally. Please contact us via www.Plymouth-speedway.com.
The Devils’ recruitment is not about to stop there with more riders lined up to represent the club this coming season.
The next of those signings is expected to be announced this coming Wednesday.
TORQUAY United were due to head to Woking this afternoon, but the match has fallen victim to a frozen pitch, which will allow the Gulls’ walking wounded some time to overcome their injuries.
Top of the National League by eight points after the 1-1 home draw against Wealdstone on Tuesday night, it was unclear how many players of the 10 that were on the injury list for that game would have been fit to face the Cards.
Manager Gary Johnson had been reluctant to talk too much about the players suffering with short-term injuries because he wanted to keep Torquay’s opponents in the dark. Fair enough. But he need not have worried with the match failing a pitch inspection yesterday afternoon.
Currently out for the long-term, after operations, are right-back Liam Davis (ankle) and strikers Andrew Nelson (knee) and Danny Wright (hamstring), while also on the list for the Wealdstone game were goalkeeper Lucas Covolan, right-back Ben Wynter and leftback Dean Moxey, central defenders Fraser Kerr and Gary Warren, and midfielders Armani Little and Aaron Namane. Meanwhile, midfielder Matt Buse is still on loan at National League North club Chippenham Town.
On the plus side, attacking midfielder Connor LemonheighEvans is back from his one-game suspension now, after he was booked for a fifth time in the home defeat against Altrincham. He has been one of the team’s best players this season.
Johnson says the SaturdayTuesday-Saturday schedule that all clubs are facing at the moment aren’t helping matters.
“A lot of clubs are going through this, it’s not only us,” he said. “Everybody is moaning about it but the football authorities are desperate to try and finish the season.
“So at the moment, if you are a Premier League club, you have probably got 40 professionals you can choose from. At our level you are down to a much, much smaller squad.
“Sometimes you have to play somebody and you are crossing your fingers hoping that he’s going to be OK - obviously with the doctor’s blessing and the physio’s blessing and the player himself.
“But if we had 40 players and we had two players that were very similar, you wouldn’t mind leaving that somebody out and bringing somebody else in.
“It’s a tough time at the minute, which is why no team is going to play 100 per cent their best game every single game they play.
“But you have got to fight through it and get through it - and the players have got to understand that they are not the only ones and when we are in a game they have got to do their best to win it.”
Torquay were due to play Woking twice in two weeks with the Hampshire side hosting the Gulls again on Saturday, February 27 in the quarter-finals of the FA Trophy.
The Gulls now have a seven-day wait to play their next game, which is againmst Halifax Town at Plainmoor next Saturday.