Kerr: Joining Poole is massive for me

Lewis Kerr put pen-to-paper to join Poole Pirates in 2025 and declared: “It’s going to elevate my career to another level.”

The 34-year-old is set to step into a heat leader berth at Wimborne Road next season, as he joins Richard Lawson, Tobias Thomsen and Zach Cook in the skull and crossbones.

And having been the first new face of Poole’s 2025 septet, Kerr is keen to keep the momentum of the club going.

He said: “I've never, never been so excited for a season.

“Joining Poole is massive for me. I think it's going to elevate my career to another level and I'm really excited.

"2024 was a tough year for me as I was riding injured for the majority of it and my engines weren't the best, so I didn't feel like I had any speed anywhere.

“So I've got all new engines, all new equipment and am going to be back to my best.

“I am really looking forward to it. And I think we're going to carry on the winning mentality that Poole always has. So yeah, I’m buzzing."

Kerr, who had a brief spell as a Pirate in 2017, arrives at Wimborne Road on a 7.76 Championship average, as Pirates continue their team building in a bid to defend the domestic treble.

Promoter Danny Ford said: "With Ben [Cook] and Tom [Brennan] both moving on we needed to bring in a heavy hitter and Lewi was desperate to join us at Poole.

“At a time when there is a real drought of top heat leaders, being able to secure two established heat leaders, both of whom carried the number one spot last season is a big positive for us.

"Lewi held the number one spot with Berwick last season, which came with a lot of pressure, but here at Poole he won't have that full weight on his shoulders. We are confident that, once he gets settled and dialled in to Wimborne Road, we can bring out the very best in him, just as we did with Richard Lawson in 2022.

"Rich and Lewi are good friends, which will definitely help Lewi settle in quickly. We are really excited to see what he can bring to the team."

(Picture: Taylor Lanning Photography)