12th JUNE 2023

DREW’S A LION

Following his guest appearance for Leicester against Ipswich, Drew has been snapped up for the Rising Star position for the Lions by Promoter Stewart Dickson. Dickson said, “We all saw how well Drew rode against Ipswich and I was also mindful that he scored 12+2 against us for Poole last year. I considered the situation with Drew after the meeting and whilst it may appear harsh on Dan Thompson, the bottom line is that it’s my job to put out what I believe to be the strongest Leicester team I can.” Drew - who makes his debut for the Lions against Belle Vue on Thursday said “It’s quite a turnaround from being without a club at the start of the year, and now I’ve come back this month wanting to ride as much as possible, and I’ve bagged myself two teams already! It was unexpected, and to be honest I even said to Stewart, Leicester was the last place I expected myself to go to. There’s no real reason for that, it’s just not a place I thought I’d end up. Now I’m pleased that I am there, and I’m looking forward to finishing the season strong in England and carrying on my form abroad.” Photography Steve Hone

10th JUNE 2023

COVER STAR DREW TWO!

Drew is the cover star of this week’s Speedway Star for the second time within a few months. He is featured in a double page interview by Phil Lanning in which he describes a new attitude towards his racing in 2023. Drew explains “This year, I’ve just tried to enjoy it. That’s not just about speedway as well, I’ve tried to enjoy life a bit more. I just go to every meeting looking forward to racing on my bike which is why I started in the first place. The fact that I get paid for it is actually a bonus. Not many people get to live a life and work at something they love. I’m pretty fortunate in my mind. I’ve just got to make the most of it.” You can read the full interview in Speedway Star - issue dated 10th June 2023 which can be purchased at www.speedwaystar.net Photographs © Steve Hone

28th MAY 2023

DREW’S A SCORPION

Drew will make his first appearance in British Speedway with Scunthorpe as Scorpions owner Rob Godfrey signed him on a 28 day contract. Drew joins Scunthorpe to replace Max Clegg who has had just a month at the Eddie Wright Raceway. Godfrey said, “My number one target in the first place was Drew Kemp but he was riding in Poland and couldn’t do it. He rides for the same team as Ryan Douglas and it was something he said about Rawicz having a five-week gap in fixtures that started it. On Saturday morning, I sent Drew a text to ask the question and he said, ‘yes, absolutely’, so it was as simple as that. The deal with Drew is initially only for 28 days, but both parties want it to continue. I certainly do, Drew has said, ‘let’s see how it goes’. I think he’s going to be the catalyst to us winning all the aggregate points and getting some more away points as well.”

4th FEBRUARY 2023

DREW ENJOYS RAWICZ TRAINING CAMP

Drew took part in a week long training camp with his Polish club Metalika Recycling Kolejarz Rawicz. The camp - through the first week of February, was based at Pobierów and the Bears enjoyed a full schedule of training including work in the gym, basketball, football, swimming and plenty of running. The camp was also an opportunity to discuss nutrition and physical training along with plans for the upcoming season including match day preparation and tactics. Drew was joined on the camp by fellow Brit and Bears’ team mate, seven times British Champion Scott Nicholls. Photographs © Metalika Recycling Kolejarz Rawicz

14th JANUARY 2023

COVER STAR DREW!

Drew appeared on the front cover of Speedway Star for the week ending 14th January 2023. It is testament to Drew’s profile within the sport that he was featured on the cover despite being left on the sidelines by British Speedway for 2023. In an in-depth interview by renowned Speedway journalist Phil Lanning, Drew talks of his disappointment in missing out on a team place at both Championship and Premiership level - despite assurances of a Rising Star place for the latter, but looks forward to making it a positive situation enabling him to concentrate on starting the season in Poland. It’s Drew’s sixth appearance on the cover of speedway’s only weekly magazine and this issue featuring Drew can be purchased at www.speedwaystar.net Photographs © Steve Hone

10th JANUARY 2023

STAYING ON TRACK DURING WINTER!

Drew has kept his wheels on track during the winter with Trials and Motocross riding on his weekends.

1st DECEMBER 2022

DREW’S 2022 SEASON

16th NOVEMBER 2022

SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES WITH DREW IN 2023

Drew’s 2023 Sponsorship Brochure is out now and available as a printed brochure or digital copy. With his sights set on racing in Poland in 2023, Drew is now at a level that requires increased investment in his equipment and that is only possible with the support of his sponsors. This year’s brochure is a compact synopsis of his career to date and if you’d like more details of how you can help as he takes the next step in his career, contact him direct via is his social media sites for a copy of the brochure.

4th NOVEMBER 2022

DREW AT THE DOUBLE!

Drew won his first domestic title of the season when Poole Pirates rode to victory in the Championship Knockout Cup Final against Redcar Bears. Poole won the second leg 52-38 to take the tie on aggregate 100-79 after winning the first leg at Redcar 48-41. Riding at No.4 for the Pirates Drew scored 6 points from 4 rides including a Heat 14 race win. Photographs © Steve Hone

11th AUGUST 2022

NEW 2022 T-SHIRT RELEASED

Drew has released a new T-shirt featuring an illustration of his 2022 “legs akimbo” wheelie. The shirt is available from Drew’s online store at www.shoponeoneeight.co.uk.

31st MAY 2022

ONEONEEIGHT - THE DREW KEMP RACING MAGAZINE No.5

The new issue of Drew’s racing magazine, OneOneEight is out now! In this 36-page full colour magazine Drew reflects on his first month of the 2022 season, takes an in-depth look at his two new clubs - Wolverhampton and Poole, and writes about his pre-season training camp with Gdansk. There’s a look at his winter weekends of motocross and meeting trials legend Sammy Miller. A Questionnaire, Spot the Difference and more all for just £3.00. Get it at Drew’s online store www.shoponeoneeight.co.uk or on race nights at the Wolverhampton and Poole track shops.

29th JANUARY 2022

BACK ON TRACK!

Drew was back on a speedway bike turning a wheel for the first time this year. His first practice session at Leicester begins a busy time for Drew with the season just seven weeks away. Drew said; “If I wasn’t excited for the season enough, getting back on the bike has just added to it!” Photographs © Steve Hone

3rd JANUARY 2022

NEW T-SHIRT AVAILABLE

Drew has released a new T-shirt to celebrate his triple winning British Under-19 Championship success. The shirt is available from Drew’s online store at www.shoponeoneeight.co.uk.

31st DECEMBER 2021

THANKS TO SPONSORS

“Thanks to all my sponsors who have stuck with me during a challenging 2021, I always do everything I can to give them maximum exposure!” Photo by Jack Cupido

1st DECEMBER 2021

ONEONEEIGHT - THE DREW KEMP RACING MAGAZINE No.4

The fourth issue of Drew’s racing magazine OneOneEight is out now. This issue includes Drew’s assessment of his 2021 season, from his success in the British Under-19 Championship to his baptism of fire in his debut Premiership season with Ipswich. Drew writes about his successes with GB, looks for the positives from his time with Eastbourne and sings the praises of Edinburgh who saved his 2021 domestic season. Speedway Star’s Peter Oakes wrote about this issue, “Drew is honest and upfront, OneOneEight is a compelling publication that provides a wonderful insight into the life of a young speedway rider.” OneOneEight issue 4 is available from Drew’s online store at www.shoponeoneeight.co.uk.

30th NOVEMBER 2021

DREW’S A WOLF

In an event at The Cleveland Arms in Wolverhampton, Drew was unveiled as a new signing for the Wolverhampton Wolves in the 2022 Premiership season.

23rd NOVEMBER 2021

SPONSORSHIP BROCHURE 2022

Drew’s 2022 sponsorship brochure has been produced in both English and Polish - underlining his ambition to progress in Poland.

12th NOVEMBER 2021

DOWNTIME FOR DREW

Drew had a weekend on the south coast but even though he enjoyed some downtime, he kept up with his Winter training schedule with runs on the beach.

1st JULY 2021

ONEONEEIGHT - THE DREW KEMP RACING MAGAZINE No.3

Issue three of Drew’s racing magazine is out now. In this issue Drew looks forward to the 2021 season with Ipswich, Eastbourne & Gdansk and reports on his first couple of meetings of the year. He looks back to his appearance in the Peter Craven Memorial meeting while paying tribute to the legendary rider and in a major article chooses his all-time favourite seven riders for his fantasy team the DK118 Rockets. OneOneEight issue 3 is available from Drew’s online store at www.shoponeoneeight.co.uk.

1st DECEMBER 2020

ONEONEEIGHT - THE DREW KEMP RACING MAGAZINE No.2

The second issue of Drew’s racing magazine, OneOneEight, is out now. Drew rode ten meetings during the curtailed 2020 season, and Drew talks about them all in this issue of his racing magazine. He travelled 10,000 miles for six meetings on the continent, he retained his British Under-19 Championship title as well as having mixed fortunes in the British Under-21 Championship and the British Final. Drew also remembers his first British title in the 500cc British Youth Championship, answers a couple of questionnaires and chooses some favourite photographs from his motocross days. OneOneEight issue 2 is available from Drew’s online store at www.shoponeoneeight.co.uk.

1st MAY 2020

ONEONEEIGHT - THE DREW KEMP RACING MAGAZINE No.1

The first issue of Drew’s racing magazine, OneOneEight, is out now. Drew has made the most of his enforced lockdown to produce a magazine to keep his fans and sponsors updated about his career. Drew says of the magazine “Producing a magazine to keep fans and sponsors informed about my racing career is something I’ve often spoken about with my sponsor Barry Cross, and we always intended getting it sorted out at some point in the future. Having a break in the speedway calendar has given us the opportunity to work on it earlier than we planned. I’m lucky to have Barry as one of my sponsors - he’s been making me look good since I started league racing in 2017, and we’ve been in constant touch over the last few weeks coming up with ideas for things to include. It’s been a lot of much needed fun and I hope you have an equally good time reading it.” OneOneEight issue 1 is available from Drew’s online store at www.shoponeoneeight.co.uk.

“I HAVEN’T SEEN my bikes in the flesh for five weeks,” reveals Drew Kemp when I ask how he’s coping with the lockdown, “it’s gonna be an emotional reunion when I do finally get my backside back on that beautiful bike and start racing!”

Drew is eagerly anticipating the day - sometime in the future, when the bikes are roaring again and he can finally make his 2020 debut for new clubs Eastbourne Eagles and Ipswich Witches. “Everything was looking so good,” continues Drew, “we had the Ipswich practice - that was mint, and I was really looking forward to getting down to Eastbourne for theirs, then this all happened so quickly. Obviously the lockdown is so important to keep everyone safe and however frustrating it feels, we’ve just got to stay home and use the time to plan ahead.”

2020 will be an important season in Drew’s career. He burst onto the scene at National League level with a sensational season in 2018 and despite a difficult domestic year in 2019 enjoyed individual success winning the British Under-19 title and making his senior debut for Great Britain.

In 2020 Drew is hoping to make continued progress in the Championship and secure his place in the Premiership. “I know it’s a big season for me,” says Drew, “I’ve got to consolidate the success I’ve had over the last two seasons and try to be a bit more consistent, I know those things will come if I ride to the best of my ability. If I enjoy riding my bike and have fun I’m confident I can have a good year.”

Drew had plenty of enquiries about team places for the 2020 Championship season before opting to ride for Eastbourne. “I think there were only about three Championship clubs that didn’t make contact to talk about 2020 with me and to be honest I was a bit surprised to have so much interest after how last season fizzled out,” he reveals.

“I came close to signing for the Eagles in 2018 and they also spoke to me last season after Sheffield so it‘s great to be finally going there. I know it’s a great club, well run, well promoted, with a great fan base and they‘re really encouraging the kids to come in which is good to see - not just for Eastbourne, but for speedway in general.”

For the second consecutive season Eastbourne are tracking an all British team and Drew believes that can only be a good thing for the camaraderie of the Eagles, “I think the team spirit at Arlington will be mint, Eddie Kennett and Kyle Newman are the only two I don‘t really know but I get on well with Lewis Kerr and Richard Lawson - I saw a lot of Richard at Ipswich last year. Obviously I’m good mates with Jason Edwards and Tom Brennan as we’ve come through the youth scene together and we’re all at college with Poultec. I’ve known Jason for so long, he was actually in the first ever motocross race I competed in when I was 6 years old, I think it’s gonna be great teaming up with him and I’d like to think there will be a few 5-1s from the Eagles reserve pairing this season!” says Drew.

Drew’s signing for Eastbourne was announced last November and it seemed it would be his only 2020 commitment with no offers for a National League place. “I didn’t make a conscious decision not to race in the National League for another season but I didn’t get any offers so I didn’t have to make that choice,” explains Drew. ”As it turned out I got the opportunity in the Premiership so I couldn’t have done the National League anyway. I’ve always said I don’t think professional Premiership riders should ride in what is essentially a development league so it would have been a bit hypocritical if I then went and did it.”

Drew’s team place at Eastbourne was settled before he left for Australia in December. He enjoyed a successful trip to the Southern Hemisphere where he made the final in all of his solo meetings and scored well for Great Britain in the test matches, Drew said,“I came back with a few medals and trophies which was really nice, but more importantly I came back regenerated and with my confidence back after a disappointing end to my season here in the UK.”

In February Drew received the unexpected but welcome opportunity to race in the top British league - the Premiership, for his home town club.

”It was a massive surprise when Chris Louis phoned about the possibility of riding for Ipswich. I think they‘d been juggling with a couple of permutations for the final two places in their 2020 line-up and when they signed Jason Crump as their number one they needed a 3 point rider to fill the last reserve spot.”

“It’s worked out well for me, we were announced as the final two pieces of the Witches jigsaw on the same day and it was Crumpie who took all the headlines. I don’t mind that, it takes a bit of pressure off me. I know it’s a big step to move up to the Premiership so soon but Ipswich have signed me because they think I can do a job for them, and I know I can. If I slip under the radar a bit that’s fine, I know I’m the local boy and there’ll be a bit of interest in me for that but in terms of my performance if I can score a few points and ride above my average that will be a result. That’s my aim, to knock in four or five points to begin with and gradually improve through the season.”

With places at Eastbourne and Ipswich confirmed Drew continued his preparations with a concerted effort to attract new sponsors. “We continued to send out sponsorship brochures while I was in Australia and then when I returned it was a case of trying to get things confirmed,” said Drew. “I think the publicity I gain from being the local boy in the Ipswich team will be great with that side of things and I’ve already picked up a couple of new local companies to sponsor me in 2020. It’s an avenue I will definitely work on more during the season. Hopefully I’ll do well at Ipswich and my profile will be one that local businesses will want to be associated with, it will make it easier for me to promote companies that are local.”

Even since returning from Australia Drew has continued to enjoy plenty of practice, “I rode most weekends after I got back from Australia either at Rye House or Leicester. It’s good to have continuous track time although it’s not the same as racing, that’s why Australia was so important, continuing to race through the winter was so useful.” he said.

The Ipswich Press and Practice day happened just a few days before lockdown began and Drew can’t hide his enthusiam as he talks about the day. “It was so much fun, I’ve never been to a studio for photographs before and it was a great experience. I’ve waited a long time to put an Ipswich race suit on so to finally be able to do it was a really proud moment. It’s such a nice suit too - so professional looking, that day was so cool for sure.”

Following the photoshoot the Witches took to the track at Foxhall and Drew was able to test out his two new bikes, “It was a good to test out the new engines and get to grips with them on the track,” he explains, “I had three sessions on each one and felt really comfortable on them, they feel better to ride than anything I’ve had before so I’m better prepared machinery wise than I’ve ever been which is great.”

Just a few days after the Ipswich Press and Practice day, the UK government announced lockdown and Drew hasn’t been to his workshop since.“I didn’t even get chance to clean my bikes after P&P before the lockdown. My workshop is at grandads so it’s not possible for me to go there when social distancing is so important.” Despite Drew’s inability to be at the workshop, his grandad has been keeping him up to date with progress, Drew said, “Grandad has built a new shed during this time and I think some of the ‘stuff’ we had in the workshop has been moved out. He showed me some photos and the workshop looks amazingly tidy, I‘m not sure how long it will last but it’s good to know he’s getting on with it!”

Drew’s mum, dad and sister are all key workers so he often finds himself home alone, but still keeps to a good regime, “I’m quite self disciplined and I’m in a proper routine, I train at least twice a day - either going for a run or doing some work in my personal gym - or the garage as some people still prefer to call it!”

As with many riders in the current situation, Drew confirms this is the longest he’s been off a bike in the eleven years since he’s been riding motor bikes. ”I only had a week off when I cracked my collarbone on a 250cc, so this is definitely by far my longest time not on a bike. It’s such a shame, I was so well prepared after Australia and I’ve never worked so hard towards or been more excited about, a new speedway season.”

Four weeks into what would have been the new season it’s difficult not to look at the calendar and think of what would have been, Drew says, “I do look at the date and think of where I’d be riding, and obviously on Thursdays and Saturdays I think of Ipswich and Eastbourne, it’s hard not to.” Drew is sure this time remains extremely important in the build up for when speedway returns. “The longer the lockdown continues the more important it is to use this time wisely,” says Drew, “I’m still thinking about speedway as much as if I was racing, I’m staying focused, speaking to the people who help me to do that and I’m working hard on my fitness and training. When the season starts I think you’ll see a difference between the riders who have kept to a good routine and those who have let things slip a little.”

Although there’s still no sign of when speedway will return, Drew is looking forward to that day and wondering how he will react, “I’m sure it will feel a bit strange when we do finally get back on track but it will be the same for everyone and after a few laps it will be like we’ve never been away.” Drew concludes with a typical wisecrack, “Speedway is a skill and once you’ve got that skill you never forget it - it’s a bit like riding a bike really!”

Article taken from Issue 1 of OneOneEight - The Drew Kemp Racing Magazine Available from shoponeoneeight at £3.00 + £1 postage.