The McManus brothers delivered a British Supersport weekend full of drama and progress at Donington Park, with Eugene continuing to challenge at the front while James notched his best finish of the season. Eugene's consistent speed saw him claim a top-five finish in both the Sprint and Feature races and a fastest lap, while James battled through to secure a top-10 result before a crash cut his weekend short. As the brothers look ahead to the final round at Brands Hatch, their momentum and growing confidence promise an exciting finish to the season.
Qualifying
Friday's free practice sessions at Donington Park presented riders with two very different challenges. The morning saw a wet track, forcing the field to endure tricky conditions, but by the afternoon the sun had returned, and with a dry track, lap times tumbled. Eugene McManus shone through, posting a best time of 1:32.082, landing him in fourth position by day's end. Meanwhile, younger brother James McManus clocked a top lap time of 1:33.707, finishing in 19th place.
Eugene's pace secured him a direct spot in Saturday’s Q2, while James narrowly missed out, falling short by just 0.010 seconds, sending him into Q1 on Saturday morning. Undeterred, James approached the session with cool composure and delivered an impressive lap of 1:32.597, securing second place in Q1 and advancing to Q2 alongside his older brother.
In Q2, James continued to make strides, slicing nearly six-tenths of a second off his earlier time, which put him 16th on the grid. Eugene, was relentless, setting a lap of 1:31.011, positioning him in the middle of the second row for the Sprint Race later that afternoon.
Sprint Race
The 10-lap Sprint race saw cloudy but dry conditions with a chill in the air. Eugene got off to a rocky start after being nudged by another rider in the opening corners, dropping him back to ninth, while James ended the first lap in 18th. However, both brothers battled hard. By lap three, Eugene was in 8th, and James had climbed to 15th. As the race progressed, Eugene pushed himself into 6th, just 1.7 seconds from a top-five finish, while James surged into 11th place.
In a thrilling conclusion, Eugene clawed back more than one and a half seconds from the rider ahead, setting his fastest time on the penultimate lap. He propelled his Ducati into a superb fifth place. James, not to be outdone, crossed the line in 10th, marking his best result of the season.
Feature Race
Sunday morning's warm-up further highlighted the McManus brothers' impressive form. Eugene set the fifth-fastest time, and James was 11th, setting them up for the Feature Race in the afternoon.
In the 16-lap Feature Race, Eugene started from 6th on the grid, while James lined up in 16th. Eugene slipped back slightly in the early laps but soon found his rhythm, running in fifth and setting blistering lap times in pursuit of the front-runners. Despite consistently lapping quicker than the leaders and clocking the race's fastest lap (1.30.455), he ultimately ran out of laps and had to settle for fifth at the flag. James, making early progress, was up to 12th by lap six before a low-side crash at Goddards ended his promising weekend early.
Eugene McManus said, “It was a really positive three days at Donington. We had an excellent pace all weekend, so thank you to the team for giving me such a good bike. With a bit more luck, we could have been fighting for another podium, but there are many positives to take to the final round at Brands Hatch.”
James McManus despite the crash, was upbeat: "A pretty good weekend. We got faster as the weekend went on, and it was great to get a top-ten finish. We know we are capable of it, but we've had some difficulties this season that meant we couldn’t show our true potential until now. Thank you to all the sponsors and the team who have helped me through the season. Let's see what we can achieve in the final round!"
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