Fermanagh's Josh Elliott went into the Red Bull Rookies Moto GP Cup race at Assen after two troubled days of practice in which he suffered both chassis and engine problems.

The KTM mechanics repaired a crack in his rear frame swinging arm which was discovered after final qualifying late on Friday evening, and a different piston and ring were also fitted due to the one he used for practice being faulty.

Without the chance to test the changes, it was going to be tough going in the race, especially from 23rd position, and the sighting and warm up laps proved things would be difficult, as Elliott signalled to friends that all was not well with his machine.

Clutch slip and handling problems during the race hampered any chance of a fairytale charge from the back, but the young Irish entry fought as hard as his machine would permit him to, continuing to the end for 18th place.

Elliott was talking after the race, "It has been a really tough weekend with the problems I had. If only these things would have been discovered before, maybe I could have done a lot better. I did a number of out braking moves but was passed again down the next straight as the clutch was slipping high up in the rev band. I'd like to thank everyone who has sent me good wishes and gave me such great support, even through these tough times. I would love things to work out better for me at Sachsenring which is in two weeks time."