Eugene McManus Junior picked up points for a twelfth place finish in the Superstock 600 race whilst younger brother James was on the pace but all out of luck with two DNFs.
Eugene McManus Junior and James McManus returned to the British Superbike Championship at Snetterton this weekend. Eugene was racing in the Pirelli National Superstock 600 whilst younger brother James was in action in the Hel Performance Junior Supersport category.
All the riders faced difficult conditions on Friday during free practice as the circuit was buffeted by strong gusts of wind. At one point it looked like the organisers may have to consider calling a halt to the action. James McManus finished 12th overall as he dealt admirably with the conditions. Eugene McManus also had a positive day. He was 17th with his best lap time coming in his second free practice session.
Qualifying
Despite the high winds continuing into Saturday James McManus put in one of his best performances to date qualifying 9th for the two races this weekend. Eugene McManus Junior improved his lap time to finish 16th in qualifying less than a second from a top ten start.
Junior Supersport Race One
James’ confidence was high after his excellent qualifying performance and it showed from lights out in race one. Lining up next to the current championship leader he was unfazed as he roared off the start line quickly moving up to eighth place. He was part of a huge group of young riders looking to chase down the leading riders.
James found himself head of that chasing group of riders and was pushing hard. His fourth lap had him register a time of 2:10.207 which was even faster than he managed in qualifying. His superb efforts in the end went unrewarded. On the fifth lap he slipped off the Kawasaki machine whilst running ninth sliding unhurt into the gravel trap.
Superstock 600 Race
Eugene McManus finished the 12 lap race in 12th place. Thankfully the wind had dropped but there was drama from the off as six of the riders near the back of the field had a coming together. McManus Junior, who headed row six, made a good start and thankfully was in front of that incident. On the fourth lap he was leading a group of riders including Laffins, Verwey and Wheeler. They were closing in on Thomson ahead.
Lap seven saw McManus move into 14th place as he come out of Palmers and headed towards Agostini. Laffins had managed to get ahead of McManus and open a gap but the two were reunited in the final laps. McManus closed down a gap of over a second to get onto the back wheel of the number 11 rider. At the flag McManus had to settle for 12th as the two crossed the line separated by 0.167 seconds.
Junior Supersport Race Two
The weather had been dry all weekend but the rain began to fall heavily with the young riders formed on the grid. The race was reduced to 9 laps as the teams changed the tyres. Conditions deteriorated rapidly and three riders fell on the two sighting laps given to the participants. James McManus lined up 13th but became an early casualty on a sodden track as he fell on the first lap, thank fully uninjured.
Eugene McManus Junior and James McManus would like to thank Kawasaki Team Green and the Affinity Sports Academy for all their efforts and support this weekend.
The third round of British Superbikes is at Silverstone on the 4th to 6th September.
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