British racer Drew Kemp pledged to learn from his mistakes as he completes Leicester’s 2026 side.
Kemp was a late addition to last season’s team and helped the club reach its second straight Premiership Grand Final, which they lost to Ipswich. But the Lions made up for it with victory in the Knockout Cup.
As he joins Ryan Douglas, Sam Masters, Nick Morris, Dan Thompson, Kyle Howarth and Dan Gilkes in a solid side, Kemp said: “I’m looking forward to being back at Leicester. I had a fairly good year last year, although I won’t make any secret that I made plenty of mistakes!
“But (team manager) Stewart (Dickson) has given me the opportunity again this year, and I really wanted to come back to Leicester and to rectify those things that I did wrong, and I know I can do that. Obviously coming second in the last two years isn’t ideal, but this year I really want to win a league title with Leicester, and it would be very good for the club.
“We came away with the KO Cup last year, which I think was deserved, and we were unlucky in the Grand Final.
“I think this year we can definitely come out on top. The team that has been put together is really good, it has strength in depth, which I think is important after a few rule changes. I’m looking forward to getting going again, and by the time March comes around we’ll be all guns blazing!”
Elsewhere, Aussie racer Josh Pickering is the final piece of Sheffield’s team-building puzzle, captaining the side and joining brothers Jack and Chris Holder in a powerful top trio, with Leon Flint, Anders Rowe, Jye Etheridge and Luke Killeen completing a very promising team.
Team manager Simon Stead said: “Everybody knows my thoughts on Picko by now, and we’re over the moon to keep him for another year.
“He’s all-action on track, he has established himself as an out-and-out heat-leader in the top-flight, and he’s a brilliant captain to have.
“There’s no doubt about it we’re going to need him to maintain a similar level of performance this season, if not keep improving, and there’s no reason why he can’t do that.”