Gladiators act qucikly to snap up May as boss

PLYMOUTH Gladiators have taken advantage of the permanent closure of the Somerset Rebels by appointing the highly experienced Garry May as their new team manager.

The Rebels announced last week that they were ceasing to exist and become the latest in a sad, but ever-growing list of clubs that have unfortunately bitten the dust.

May was team manager at the Oak Tree Arene and enjoyed great success in that rike with the Rebels, leading them to a number of trophy winning campaigns and it is hoped that he can bring his experience and expertise to the Coliseum and bring glory to Plymouth, with current team boss Mattie Bates taking a step sideways.

Speaking of the decision, Plymouth promoter Mark Phillips said: “Basically, Matt seemed to be in awe of the riders, i.e. Bjarne Pedersen and Jason Crump, and wasn’t dictating to them as a boss. He never thought he had the authority to steer them in the right direction and he was a little bit out of his depth.

“When Garry became available, then we made the call. Garry wasn’t at Somerset when I rode there, but he has proven results in both the Championship League and the Premier League and he certainly knows how to approach riders and get the best out of them.

“Experience is one thing that you can’t teach people and having Garry’s knowledge is certainly going to be helpful for the club and we hope he can steer us in the right direction.”

Bates will continue to be a part of the Plymouth set up with Phillips adding: “Mattie will still be a part of it and will be there studying Garry to boost his own experience. He will also co-promote and help with race day preparations, etcetera.”

Phillips also gave an update on the injury suffered by captain Jason Crump, who suffered a nasty fall whilst riding for Ipswich at Wolverhampton last week.

His injuries forced the three-times World champion to withdraw from last Tuesday’s thrilling 45-45 draw with Kent Kings and it is now confirmed that he broke seven ribs in that spill.

“Jason is still in hospital with five ribs broken on one side and two ribs broken on the other,” Phillips said. “He is hoping to be released from hospital over the weekend, but that is still uncertain at the moment.

“We thought he may be out for 3-4 weeks, but we now think it will be longer than that as the injury is far worse than was first realised.

“It is unfortunate for the fans of Plymouth but, at least with Jason’s average (12.00), we can get suitable cover to ride in his absence and Richard Lawson is joining us on Tuesday.

“He is heat leader for Eastbourne and rode a meeting at Plymouth at the end of 2019 in our Open challenge and he went through the card unbeaten. He was awesome on our little track.”

As yet, Phillips does not have a replacement for reserve Henry Atkins lined up. He is due to have an operation on an injured shoulder in the coming weeks and a move for Poole’s Danyon Hume fell through when Pirates opted to have a practice day instead.

The Gladiators are due to race the Berwick Bandits at the Coliseum on Tuesday. Admittance is by ticket only and can be purchased through the club website at www.plymouth-speedway.com