The Isle of Man-based DAO1886 sidecar team made a strong return to at the Dutch Grand Prix after a high-speed crash the previous weekend.

Ballasalla-based driver Harry Payne suffered a broken nose and a badly swollen eye in the qualifying incident at Le Mans nine days earlier.

The Yamaha-engined LCR chassis had received considerable damage in the crash, but this was put right during the week leading up to the Dutch GP by chassis specialist Simon Perillat in eastern France.

Team boss Sommai Nantakoon of DAO Holdings extended her thanks to everyone who had worked so hard to prepare the machine and the French teams that stepped in to help at Le Mans.

The sidecar GP at Assen was run alongside the World Superbike meeting, where Payne and Wilkes managed to qualify sixth amongst a strong field.

‘It was like starting from scratch, the bike was fixed and back to how it should be, but it took a little while to get a good feeling back,’ admitted Harry.

He and passenger Mark Wilkes of Kent finished sixth in the first 18-lap race and fourth in race two.