3 riders ready to make their ‘Mark’ on Coverdale Patons at NW200

Team ILR owner-manager Ian Lougher welcomes Carl Phillips to the team for this year’s North-West 200.
Photo: Team ILR

Team ILR can confirm that they will field three riders at this year’s International North-West 200.

Horst Saiger, Carl Phillips and James Chawke will contest the Supertwin races on the immaculate Mark Coverdale S1-R Patons, a bike that made a sensational debut at the event in 2018.

Horst Saiger, seen here at the 2017 North-West 200, returns to Team ILR for this year’s event
where he will race one of the Mark Coverdale Patons in the Supertwin races.
Photo: Carl Parris

Horst Saiger of course needs no introduction and is one of the world’s finest road racers, and he is also no stranger to Team ILR having rode for the team when he made his debut at the 2015 Ulster Grand Prix on the team’s Ninja ZX-10R.

On his first visit to the North-West 200 in 2012 he notched up impressive 17th and 10th place Superstock finishes with a 117+ mph lap in the second race, and in 2014 he broke the Superstock lap record on his way to fifth place in only his third visit to the event.

The 2015 North-West 200 saw Horst involved in a serious crash but with patience and determination he bounced back to again compete at the highest level, including a third in last year’s Superbike Classic TT on the Isle of Man.

Carl Phillips from Northern Ireland is another talented rider who has worked with Team ILR in the past when, in 2016, he operated out of the team’s awning for his assault on the BSB National Superstock 600 Championship.

Carl took full advantage of team owner Ian Lougher’s advice and knowledge and he took two race wins at Brands Hatch and Knockhill respectively along with a total of seven podiums on his way to coming close to winning the championship.

James Chawke in action at the 2018 Manx GP on the Mark Coverdale Paton.

James Chawke is a rider who has been carving out a reputation as a Irish star of the future and in 2019 he will make his debut around the Portstewart-Coleraine-Portrush triangle circuit.

James really caught the eye at last year’s Manx GP when he won a dramatic Junior Manx GP and he’s no stranger to the Mark Coverdale Paton having rode the bike to 2nd in the first Lightweight Manx GP and he set a lap record on the bike at 114.993mph (despite slowing down to come into the pits) before retiring in the second Lightweight race.

He will also have a Mark Coverdale Paton at his disposal for his TT debut, where he will be joined on a second Coverdale Paton by Team ILR owner-manager and ten times TT winner Ian Lougher who will be out to improve on his excellent sixth place finish in the Lightweight TT last year, and who will no doubt be able to pass on his wealth of experience to TT newcomer Chawke.

Source: 3 riders ready to make their ‘Mark’ on Coverdale Patons at NW200