Sleaford sidecar racer Gary Horspole takes eighth place at Assen

The pair secured an eighth-placed finish and eight championship points, bringing their total to 110 and placing them sixth in the overall rider standings with one round remaining.

The weather affected the racing on Saturday and after qualifying well on the sixth row for the first race, Horspole decided not to race as, with standing water in places on the track, he deemed the conditions too dangerous.

But bright and dry conditions awaited the outfits for Sunday as they lined up for the start of race two.

Having not competed in race one, Horspole and Connell had to start from the back of the grid, leaving them an uphill task to catch up with the leaders.

But Horspole got his head down and powered the LCR Suzuki F1 outfit through the back markers to take up 15th position on the final lap.

One of the leading group crashed, resulting in a red flag and a result was declared.

With the demise of the crashed outfit, Horspole and Connell were promoted to 13th, but with Dutch outfits and 600cc Cup riders not appearing in the results, they were promoted to eighth.

The final round, consisting of two races, will attract double championship points at Brands Hatch on October 15.

A pair of strong results could result in the duo completing their season in fifth place.