E15 Racing were down but not out in what turned out to be a Bruising Brands Hatch Weekend for Eugene McManus Jr

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The weekend had started early for Eugene McManus Jr and his E15 racing outfit. Travelling over from Northern Ireland on the Ferry, loaded down with everything they would need for a comfortable weekends racing. The boys were held up by heavy traffic on their way down to Southern England, but by Thursday afternoon, the team were all set up and ready to go.

Spirits in the camp were high after Eugene’s superb sixth place finish in the previous round at Thruxton and the team weren’t alone in their latest endeavour! They were joined by the supremely talented William Dunlop, who was also competing at Brands Hatch in the ultra competitive 600 Supersport series.

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So, we were all set for the big race of the weekend, a 14 lap affair in the glorious Brands Hatch sunshine.

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Starting from the middle of row 3, Eugene got a great start, pulling away from the other riders on row 3 and tagging onto the back of Jake Archer who had started on the front row. As they battled for position through the first couple of corners it was difficult to see where Eugene was placed but as they came into Graham Hill bend for the first time Eugene was nicely placed in 6th position.

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As they dropped into Hawthorne Hill, Eugene was in 7th, just behind Ed Rendell but within striking distance of the front runners.

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As they came into Hawthorne for the first time Eugene Jr suffered a vicious high side which threw the bike into the gravel trap and sent the luckless rider barrelling across the gravel.

The visibly disappointed rider, stalked off to the side of the track whilst the marshals recovered the bike but you couldn’t help but feel desperately sorry for the young man. Bare in mind that this guy had never been on the Brands GP track before the weekend, had only competed in a handful of HEL Motostar races previous to this one and is a relative newcomer to the world of motorcycle racing.