Eagles Euro honour
Eastbourne HG Aerospace Eagles are delighted to announce that their three young GB International Stars, Drew Kemp, Jason Edwards and Tom Brennan have been selected to represent their Country at the European Under 19 and Under 21 Individual Championships in August.
It is a huge achievement for the riders themselves and everyone at the Club is delighted that their policy of selecting an “All British Team” for the second successive Speedway season and focus on young rider development, is paying off so successfully.
Drew Kemp, who joined the Eagles for the 2020 season on loan from parent club Ipswich Witches having previously made his competitive debut for the club in the National League in 2017, joins Club assets Jason Edwards and Tom Brennan in the European Under 19 Qualifier in Pardubice Czech Republic on the 14th August with the Qualifiers going to the Final in Slovakia a few days later.
Tom Brennan rides in the European Under 21 Qualifier in the Czech Republic on the 1st August.
It caps a remarkable fightback from a serious injury in May 2019 for Brennan, who not only suffered a badly broken leg, but who was also placed in an induced coma for a few days after breathing complications following the injury.
He and Jason Edwards are club assets and both were fast-tracked in to the Championship side in 2019, with Brennan starting the season and achieving an excellent average of over 6 points per meeting before his injury and Edwards joining the side following a reshuffle in July, and improving week by week, gaining valuable experience in the process.
Brennan and Edwards were both members of the Eagles 2018 National League winning League Play Off and Cup winning side.
A Club spokesman said “this is a fantastic honour and huge achievement for Tom, Jason and Drew and a fitting endorsement for the Clubs philosophy of developing and promoting young British talent to help them in the formative years of their careers.
We are incredibly proud of all three riders and will do all we can to support them in the coming weeks as there are major costs involved in competing in these European Meetings.
We are very keen to build a young Rider Academy at Eastbourne, similar to those nurtured in the past by Bob Dugard and Arthur Nutley in the 1970’s and in subsequent decades with the likes of Martin Dugard, David Norris and Dean Barker.
The clear message is that the club is focussed on young British talent and although we are incredibly frustrated, as are all speedway followers, that we have not yet been able to see the lads and the Team on Track in 2020, the future looks incredibly positive for us and also the Team GB project, being so brilliantly led by Rob Painter and Vicky Blackwell supported by Neil Vatcher and a growing and very impressive support squad focused on taking GB back to the top of the Speedway world.
Image credits: Mike Hinves & Tiffani Graveling Photography