HUMMING a Beatles song on the grid at the latest round of the Thundersport GB championships at Donington Park proved just the ticket to ride for stressed out Westhoughton motorcycle racer Joe Lawrence.

After a disappointing qualifying session, the 28-year-old started race one of the Pre-National 600 class in 12th place and despite managing to finish eighth he was unhappy with the way things had come together with his JDL Racing Kawasaki bike.

But a pep talk from his dad Dave and a change to the set-up helped Lawrence storm back to claim two fifth-place finishes on day two – a feat that clinched him the "rider of day" award across all nine competition classes.

"I was so chuffed and proud that out of all of the huge talent at Thundersport GB we were chosen to receive the trophy," he said, after a long and winding road to recovery following a serious crash earlier in the season.

"Racing is a tough game, it isn’t easy trying to keep up with the fast lads and we all work for this.

"It was a slow start to the weekend. I broke my wrist at Snetterton earlier in the season and I was struggling with it all through testing and that followed into race one.

"My 'Farv' arrived back from his holidays in time for race two and he gave me a good talking to.

"He reminded me to enjoy my racing and managed to get me in the right frame of mind.

"A few set-up changes and me singing the Beatles (I Wanna Hold Your Hand) on the grid to calm me down saw me get a mega start and get away with the front lot.

"After nearly getting taken out on the first lap at Melbourne Loop, we had some great battles and managed to get her home in fifth."

Lawrence's improved lap times in the first day's racing promoted him up to ninth on the grid for Sunday's two races, and he took full advantage to repeat the trick and finish fifth again.

"We got a belter of a start in Sunday's first race and was in fourth for a while, keeping within sight of the top three," he said.

"With three laps to go I ran wide into Goddard's and that let the rider behind bridge the gap and he got me going into Foggy's on the penultimate lap.

"We had a good battle to the end but managed another fifth place."

Lawrence's mood was not dampened by an 18th-place finish in the final race of the weekend after he took a safety-first approach to nurse the bike home in atrocious conditions.

"We got held in the holding area for a while and I wasn’t happy with the temperature of the tyres," Lawrence added.

"We got off to a decent start but the left side of the tyre took a lap to get up to temperature.

"On the third lap I thought I had a problem with the bike as my foot slipped off the pegs a few times, but then I noticed the rain had started to fall.

"Going into Melbourne Loop I lost the front end but managed to catch it and with riders falling everywhere I decided to shut off and bring it home.

"The race was red flagged on lap four and we came in 18th...not good but after the accidents, injuries and bike bending we have done this year I just wanted to finish in one piece.

"The team worked awesome all weekend, I cant thank them enough, let's see if we can get a good result to finish the year off at Cadwell Park."

Lawrence is 10th in the overall standings going into the championship finals at Cadwell this weekend.