Thread Modes Team ILR moves into the British Motostar Championship

Malcolm Administrator Posts: 20,579 Threads: 18,390 Joined: Oct 2005 Reputation: 0 #1 Team ILR moves into the British Motostar Championship Team ILR (Ian Lougher Racing) will have an additional presence in the BSB paddock in 2015 when the team fields two riders in the exciting Motostar British Championship. With the highly experienced and respected Lougher at the helm, ILR has always maintained a strong ethos in encouraging and developing promising young riders and the Motostar Championship, which continues to produce up and coming talent, is the perfect stage for the team to expand its race programme. The two riders who have put pen to paper are Vasco van der Valk  and Joe Thomas. 15 years old Vasco van der Valk comes from Amersfoort in the Netherlands where he still attends college, and has race experience in abundance that belies his young age. He started out at just four years of age on a Yamaha PW50 with a sidecar and had his first moto-cross club race. From 2009-2011 he raced in the Molenaar NSF100 Championship and finished 2nd overall in 2011. He spent the 2012-2014 seasons in the Moriwaki 250 Junior Cup, finishing a well deserved 3rd in both the Dutch and European Championships in 2013 and 8th in the European standings last year, after some bad luck and injury in the early part of the season. In 2014 he also had wild card outings in the European Junior Cup at Magny Cours (5th) and in the BSB Moto3 round at Oulton Park finishing a strong 8th. Vasco always races with Number 62, and outside of racing lists physical training, computer games and of course motorcycles as among his interests. Despite being only 16, Thomas from Pencoed in South Wales also brings  a wealth of experience to the table. Racing in hill climbs and mini-moto events from the age of 7, he soon graduated to GP50s and GP70s in the FAB British Championship. In May 2009 he graduated to a national licence after only 10 rounds as a novice, taking 7 wins and 2 seconds and tried his luck at a selection of club meetings with Darley Moor and North Gloucester Road Race Clubs when he was 13, taking his first win at only his second meeting. In 2012 Joe secured the NGRRC F125 Championship and the Newcomers 500 Open Championship on his Aprilia RS125, and in September that year at the age of 14, he took his first steps in the BSB Monster Energy Motostar GP125 class at Donington Park, qualifying in an impressive 12th position and finishing an excellent 15th overall. Due to limited finances in 2013, he competed as a wild card, again in selected BSB Monster Energy Motostar GP125 rounds, and once more demonstrated great potential and showed his ability to compete at this high level of competition. He registered three top 10 finishes with his best result being 4th at Brands Hatch on the GP circuit . Last season Joe continued to compete in the Monster Energy Motostar GP125 class on his RS125, loaned by Moto UK Racing. It was his intention to do the complete championship but financial difficulties and continuous mechanical problems forced him to leave the series after just 5 rounds, but not before he had made his mark by finishing in the top 10 on four occasions with a 7th place at Knockhill his best result. A young man with a strong work ethic, Joe is currently undertaking a National Diploma in Mechanical Engineering at Bridgend College as he hopes in the future to enter Swansea University to study for a BSc in Motorsport Engineering, he also works part time for a national chain store. In what little spare time he has, Joe enjoys cycling and skateboarding, and is also a competent snowboarder. He enjoys spending time with his friends and family but above all his greatest passion is racing! Both Joe and Vasco will test with their new team in Spain in mid-March. 23-01-2015, 11:42 AM Website Find Reply

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