Motostar Round 4 Review - Brands GP

Eugene McManus Junior came through a testing weekend at Brands Hatch to claim a brilliant seventh position in Sunday's Motostar race 2.

Eugene had looked strong all weekend, despite suffering with braking issues, he completed two solid Free Practice sessions on Friday.  After FP1 and FP2, the wee bull sat comfortably in the top 6 just 1.6 seconds behind Jake Archer in P1, who was a second quicker than the chasing pack in both sessions. A good qualifying lap on Saturday morning would close the gap to Archer, the probable pole man. McManus was confident he could get a front row start.

Qualifying was eventful with The Wee Bull managing only 8 laps in total, slipping off early in the session at Surtees. He rejoined with 4 minutes left and just enough time for a couple of laps. He recovered well to finish P10 for the race later in the day.

Race 1 began in dry and sunny conditions with McManus junior looking to make up a few positions from the off. An unfortunate tangle with another rider put the Wee Bull out of the race prematurely on lap 1. Jake Archer romped to another victory and extended his Championship lead to 50 points.

Eugene Junior

"Its been tough this weekend so far, Mike and Aodhàn have worked so hard to find the issues we were having and I was unfortunate to get clipped in race 1 and not finish. It was a racing incident and couldn't be helped so I'm ok with it, these things happen in racing"

Mike King

"On Friday we had engine breaking issues causing Junior to run wide. Initially we thought it was clutch related but it turned out to be a corrupt map or ecu fault. Everything seemed fine for Race 1 it was unfortunate to see him crash out. The bike is all set up for race 2 and we are confident everything is sorted now"

Eugene Senior

" Incidents happen and that's racing, there was nothing Junior could do about it, he's obviously disappointed but we will keep things positive, relax this evening and go again tomorrow in Race 2."

McManus Junior would start in P16 for Race 2 on Sunday.

Race 2 - Starting on row 6 was never going to be easy but Eugene Junior showed true grit and determination to rescue something from the weekend. To the delight of the team, he carved his way through the field to finish in seventh position, a brilliant result considering the ups and down's of race 1. There is no doubting the ability of The Wee Bull and on this form he will be challenging at the sharp end of this competitive championship again very soon. Jake Archer collected his 7th win in 8 starts to take a commanding lead into the next round in a fortnight's time.

Eugene Junior

"I had to get something for the team, they have worked so hard this weekend, I can't thank them enough!! We will be back at Thruxton, massive thanks to all my sponsors for their continued support and a special thanks to Mike and Aodhàn, the best mechanics I could wish for."

E15 Racing will be back over the weekend 03-05 August  at Thruxton for Round 5 of The Hel Perfomance Motostar British Championship.....

#2018 #Motostar #Round42018 #BrandsHatch