"It was an eventful and forgettable weekend for Team ILR's young Dutch rider Nadieh Schoots as the latest round of the Pirelli National Superstock 1000 Championship paid its annual visit to the Knockhill circuit in Scotland.
In unusually dry and mild conditions during qualifying, Nadieh had the misfortune to be unintentionally shunted off the track in the first session leaving her with a sore neck and back, and hoping for a dry second session the next day to give her a chance of qualifying.
Thanks to the hard work of the team in sorting her bike, Nadieh managed to dip under the qualifying lap time in Q2 by the slimmest of margins, but importantly make the grid for Sunday's race. However that was that, as far as hopes of any further progress was concerned, as Nadieh's race never made it beyond the first lap.
Nadieh on the grid at Knockhill with her dad Alex, Team ILR owner/manager Ian Lougher, and team mechanic Matt Jackson.
In the usual first lap melee, Matt Pearce was forced off line and then highsided coming out of the chicane, collecting the unfortunate Schoots and Euan Meston in the process. Despite feeling a bit 'second-hand', Nadieh has already set her sights on the next round at Snetterton in two weeks time.
There was some consolation for Team ILR when Carl Phillips clinched a thrilling win in the Superstock 600 race. Carl and his team are operating from the Team ILR garage this season and taking advantage of team owner Ian Lougher's experience and knowledge. Carl was 5th quickest after qualifying and, after Ian altered the suspension set-up on his bike, there was an immediate improvement during the warm-up session. Carl also set the fastest lap in the dry conditions and extended his lead in the championship by 18 points and now leads by 38 points.
Team ILR owner/manager Ian Lougher:
''Nadieh's really had bad luck, getting shunted off twice by the same over exuberant guy, but as they say 'that's racing'. It's a shame, as after a few front fork setting tweeks she went faster in the warm up and was looking forward to a good race. Carl showed great pace all weekend and used his head in the race in difficult conditions as on a dry track and dry tyres, the rain started to slowly arrive, but he kept his cool and worked his way from 4th to the lead, first setting the fastest lap on the way to a class win.''
Nadieh Schoots:
"Battered, bruised, and covered in tape after two crashes that weren't my fault. Can't thank Team ILR and my dad enough for their help this weekend. Bring on Snetterton please!"