Vasco van der Valk produced the goods for Team ILR with a couple of top drawer performances as the Hel Motostar British Championship visited Cadwell Park for the eighth installment of the series.

However, it was a meeting to forget for his team-mate Joe Thomas as he crashed twice over the course of the weekend.

An improvement of almost one and a half seconds in second qualifying was good enough to see van der Valk eighth quickest overall and place him on the third row of the grid. Thomas meanwhile had also improved in the second session, by over half a second, but he then crashed out without any harm to himself or the bike and he would start from the fourth row in 12th.

In beautiful late summer weather conditions, the first race wasn't a lap old when Thomas again crashed out as he tried to overtake two riders at the Hairpin whilst attempting to compensate for a bad start.

Van der Valk meanwhile was going about his business in a calm, mature manner and at the halfway point of the 10-lap race he was safe in eighth position but in a dice with his good friend Jorel Boerboom.

Edward Rendall then crashed out on the sixth lap which elevated the Dutch duo to sixth and seventh.

Vasco was riding a sensible race but couldn't quite get past Boerboom, however with the combination of 4th place man Dani Saez going out on the last lap and a red flag, it meant that Vasco scored his best result of the season so far with sixth and was rewarded with a second row start for Race 2 the following day.

Unbelievably the sunshine which had bathed the Lincolnshire circuit all weekend, gave way to rain as the riders prepared to take to the track for Race 2.

Vasco and Boerboom were soon renewing their first race battle as they set about chasing Jake Archer for the first couple of laps. Boerboom then managed to get past Archer on the third lap enabling him to pull away.

Championship leader Taz Taylor then fell victim to the tricky conditions on the fifth lap which meant that van der Valk was now up to 6th just behind Richard Kerr.

Joe meanwhile was down in 16th and had his hands full with four other riders.

With two laps remaining van der Valk was safe in fifth and just had to sensibly bring it home which he duly did, for Thomas though it wasn't quite as straightforward as he battled to hold on to the last spot in the top fifteen.  

Under pressure from two riders on the penultimate lap, Joe nevertheless determinedly clung on to hold his position.  

With Vasco now 9th in the championship, the series now takes a two week break before the next round at Oulton Park, in the meantime Team ILR owner/manager Ian Lougher returns to the Isle of Man to take part in the Classic TT.

Vasco van der Valk in action over the Mountain at Cadwell Park.
Photo: David Johnston Motorsport Photography

Ian Lougher Team ILR owner/manager: 

"Cadwell used to be the trickiest circuit on the calendar when I was racing, and things haven't changed to this day....it's tight and narrow to pass and difficult to get a clear run through traffic to qualify on, so I didn't envy the lads in my team this weekend, but they did well. 

Vasco had never seen the place before but showed what a class act he is when he went on to qualify in a brilliant 8th position.

Joe on the other hand was really looking forward to this meeting, but although he proved he could pull the biggest wheelies over the Mountain, he couldn't match his younger team-mate in lap times or race pace and subsequently fell twice. Racing is all about pushing to find the limit but not exceeding it, but if you do you have to learn from your mistakes and carry on with even more determination."

Vasco van der Valk:

"The first race was amazing, I fought hard and bettered my lap time a lot, whilst battling all the time with my mate Jorel. Last lap was red flagged but still scored 6th place and a second row start for Race 2.

The rain came just before Race 2 and the team changed to rain tyres and settings very quick. After that a great race, I was 4th for a while but had to give up one position to a rain specialist.

Still 5th and best position in British Superbikes Motostar yet. Thanks to the team and my sponsors."
 
Joe Thomas:

"I enjoyed the last race, but wish I hadn't fell off in the first one. But we'll be ready to go again in the next round.
Thanks to the team, my family and all my sponsors."