What the Fork Monarchs have signed Drew Kemp as their Rising Star for the remainder of the season and he will make his debut for Edinburgh Monarchs against Birmingham Brummies on Friday (tapes-up 7.30pm).
The 19-year-old becomes the youngest current Monarch as he is less than a month past his 19th birthday but the club believe his potential has been obvious for some time since he started riding with Ipswich and Mildenhall in 2018.
German-born Kemp switched to Sheffield and Kent the following year, and was back in the south for 2021 with Ipswich and Eastbourne.
The high point of his career so far was probably his runner-up placing in the British Under-21 Championship this season, at Redcar in July.
He is still riding with the Witches in the Premiership but the sad demise of Eastbourne has left him without a Championship club. Monarchs have struggled with their Rising Star position all year since the late formulation of the rule – most clubs already had a qualifying rider but Monarchs did not.
That meant team changes, and, with all due respect to two likeable riders, neither Joe Lawlor nor Luke Crang proved to be yet ready for full-time racing at SGB Championship level. Monarchs thank Luke for his efforts in recent weeks and wish him well.
Although he struggled as a guest in his first ever Armadale meeting last Friday, Monarchs have high hopes that Kemp will grow in confidence and provide the solidity they need at the tail end of the team.
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