DAN Gilkes looked back to his best as Plymouth Gladiators made it successive home wins by seeing off Scunthorpe Scorpions 49-41 at The Coliseum last night.

Gilkes has been getting back to full race fitness after a bad injury curtailed his 2022 season, but he scored an excellent paid 11 points from four rides against a Scunthorpe side who arrived in Devon having lost only one of their opening four meetings.

It was a great way for the Gladiators to kick off their Cab Direct Championship campaign, and despite not quite hitting the 60-point target team manager Garry May had set his riders before the meeting, an eight-point margin gives them a chance of claiming the aggregate bonus point in the return fixture at the Eddie Wright Raceway.

Gilkes received excellent backing from skipper Kyle Howarth and Ben Barker, who both collected 12 points apiece, while Richie Worrall managed eight points from his first three rides before a last place in his final outing.

The meeting went to a last-heat decider, but Howarth and Barker made sure of the two points with a 5-1 over Jake Allen and Ryan Douglas.

Both Paul Starke and Jake Turner suffered bike issues during the evening, and Turner was involved in a very scary moment in heat eight.

The referee pressed the wrong button, rather then the red light one to stop the race, as Turner struggled to get his seized bike off the track after a first-bend fall, and the Kiwi had still not cleared the inside when the three remaining riders came round again, but thankfully they were able to miss him.

There was also controversy in heat five when the referee awarded the race when Starke fell after bike problems, even though Scunthorpe number one Douglas was hotly contesting first place with Ben Barker at the time of the stoppage.

It was an eventful evening for Douglas, who found himself on the deck three times, the last of which left him with a painful hip injury, but he still managed 11 points, with fellow Australian Jake Allen also on 11 for the Scorpions after three race wins.

The Gladiators change competition tonight when they visit Poole Pirates in the Knockout Cup (7.30pm).

They will be hoping to keep the scoreline close ahead of the second leg at The Coliseum next Tuesday (7pm).

Plymouth: Kyle Howarth (capt) 12+2 (5 rides), Ben Barker 12+1 (5), Dan Gilkes 9+2 (4), Richie Worrall 8 (4), Paul Starke 5+1 (4), Jake Turner 3+1 (5), Ben Trigger 0 (3).

Scunthorpe: Jake Allen 11 (5), Ryan Douglas 11 (6), Simon Lambert (capt) 5+2 (4), Joe Thompson 6 (4), Michael Palm Toft 4+1 (4), Connor Mountain 3+1 (4), Lee Complin 1 (3).