WESTHOUGHTON motorcycle racer Joe Lawrence continued his rise up the rankings in the Thundersport GB Championships with another four top-10 finishes in the latest round at Anglesey over the Bank Holiday weekend.

Lawrence moved up into 20th position in the Pre-National Sport standings after a sterling performance aboard his R6 Yamaha on a track he was riding for the first time.

As well as recording an eight, ninth and two 10-placed finishes he also continually pushed his lap times higher and higher throughout the weekend, finishing with a best that was just two seconds outside the course record.

"Overall it was a fantastic weekend, my best of what has been a tough championship so far," said the 26-year-old racer.

"It is another track learned and is very promising for our last two rounds of the year.

"I can't wait to get back out there and see what we can do."

A clear and dry weekend throughout testing and the two race days helped Lawrence get to grips with the Anglesey Coastal circuit.

"Testing went well and every change we made to the bike showed improvements in times throughout the test day and I seemed to gel with the track straight away," he said.

"On Sunday morning I managed to qualify on the fourth row of the grid in 12th position with another personal best lap and that gave me confidence for the races as I knew if I got a good start I could possibly follow the frontrunners."

The young Bolton rider had a great start in the opening race, moving into the top 10 straight away, and he held track position in ninth position to record his best ever finish while also knocking another second off his personal-best lap time.

Sunday's second race was even better as the Bolton flyer successfully navigated an opening lap that included a collision at the Rocket corner.

He moved up to sixth place for a few laps but a lack of rear grip towards the end of the race caused him to fall back to eighth - still another best-placed finish.

The team made a few changes to the bike set-up for the Monday races in a bid to improve rear grip.

"I had another good start in the first race on Monday and this time no riders fell in front," added Lawrence.

"The pace was very quick, but I managed to keep up with the top-10 riders and on the fourth lap I slotted into 10th and tried to chase down the ninth-placed rider.

"Unfortunately, I ran out of laps but still I came home in 10th and knocked another second off my best lap time.

"In the second race, I got a decent start but fell back a little in the first corner.

"I narrowly missed getting taken out in the second corner, but I got my head down and moved into 11th place on the first lap.

"I then fought hard to finish the second lap in 10th place, which is where I stayed throughout the race.

"I had the chance to move as high as eighth, but again they just had a little more pace than me as we struggled a little with mid-corner speed towards the end of the race."

Lawrence and his team will now move on to Donington for the penultimate event of the season on September 26-27.

He is looking for more sponsors to help fund the team. To find out more, visit the website www.jdlracing.co.uk, email joe@jdlracing.co.uk or call 07584 076352.