Eugene McManus returned to action at Cadwell Park determined to make a mark after a mixed weekend at Thruxton in Round 7.
Free Practice 1 gave McManus an opportunity to acquaint himself with the tricky Lincolnshire circuit and he finished the session earlier than expected after a tumble at the gooseneck, which left him in 5th position just a second off leader Ed Rendell. The Cadwell lap record stood at 1:32.945 and Rendell set an early pace of 1:34.241.City Lifting riders Tom Booth Amos and Jake Archer completed the top 3.
Mechanic Mike King, worked his magic to get the bike ready in time for FP2 and Eugene made significant improvements to finish P4 behind Tom Booth Amos, who smashed another Motostar lap record setting a time of 1:32.631 with Rendell in second and Archer in third.
Qualifying on Saturday morning proved difficult for Eugene to break into the top 3, as Team City Lifting's Tom Booth Amos and Jake Archer again dominated the session. Booth Amos had set a new lap record in Free Practice 2 the previous day and he was ahead of the pack again, to take pole with Archer second and Richard Kerr in third. Eugene finished 2.4 seconds behind Booth Amos to complete the second row in 6th position. He would need a good start to get away with the front runners in Race 1.
Race 1 became a battle for third as the City Lifting pair stormed away at the front, leaving The Wee Bull fighting for the final rostrum position with fellow irishman Kerr. Ed Rendell made a breathtaking dash from last place and forced his way into the fight until he crashed out leaving Kerr to swoop and hold off the unlucky McManus Junior. 4th was a respectable finish considering the previous days ups and downs. The Wee Bull started Race 2 on Sunday in 5th Position.
Race 2 - was a similar tale to Race 1 as the usual suspects got away at the front with Booth Amos smashing his own lap record on route to another win. Eugene fought Richard Kerr for fourth spot
once Ed Rendell pulled a small gap on the pair. Fellow Irish man Kerr pipped The Wee Bull home by just 0.3 of a second.
Eugene should take a lot of positives from the weekend with a fourth and fifth place finish , 24 more points in the championship to close the gap on Storm Stacey and valuable experience around one of the most technical of circuits in the Championship. His fastest lap time in race 2 would have broken the old lap record before Booth Amos had his say.
Eugene;
"It's been a difficult weekend but I'm pleased with my performances, the guys at the front are getting quicker and I need to get away with them and fight hard for more podiums. I'd like to thank Mike for all his work on the bike and all my sponsors for their support"
E15 Racing now move onto Round 9 at Silverstone over the weekend 8-10th September.