Eugene McManus ended his two round World Supersport experience with a top twenty finish at Misano, whilst brother James was denied the opportunity to improve on his 31st in race one, after getting caught up in someone else’s accident in race two.
Eugene was competing for WRP Wepol Racing in the World Supersport category and younger brother James McManus took part in the World Supersport300 class for Team #109 at the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli.
Photo: Václav Duška Jr.
Free practice
On Friday the two brothers had a couple of free practice sessions to get used to the new track. James was out first thing in the morning but the track temperature was already at 35 degrees Celsius. During the allotted twenty minutes he posted a time of 1:54.054 as he began to get a feel for the ciruit.
In his second free practice session the temperature had risen to 47 degrees on the track. In the heat of the afternoon James reduced his time significantly with a 1:53.079 finishing the day 37th overall.
Eugene McManus completed 20 laps during free practice one and registered a best time of 1:42.795 on the Yamaha YZF R6 of WRP Wepol Racing. Whilst Eugene concentrated on gaining experience of the track many other riders had lap times struck off for exceeding track limits.
In FP2 a number of riders continued to struggle to stay within the track limits as Eugene chopped 9 tenths of a second off his FP1 lap time. His best of 1.41.898 put him 32nd at the end of the first day.
Superpole
The weekend’s good weather continued as James set about securing his spot on the starting grid for World Supersport 300 race one. He managed a time of 1:52.727 on his 12th lap of the session that put the rookie 39th for the race in the afternoon.
In the World Supersport Superpole session there was more good news for Eugene. He reduced his lap time even further. Despite improving his lap time significantly Eugene was unable to make up any positions and would line up 32nd on the grid for his first race of the Misano weekend.
Photo: Thomas Benoit.
Race One World Supersport 300
The first of the two 15 lap races saw James battling with a number of riders on the opening few laps. Having dropped back to 37th in these first exchanges he was back to 35th by third race distance. McManus went on to move up to 31st position by the end of the race.
Race One World Supersport
By the time Eugene’s race got underway the track temperature was almost 50 degrees Celsius. Whether it was the heat or not the conditions appeared to provide an extra challenge for the riders as a number crashed out during the 18 lap encounter. Eugene stayed in the seat and brought his bike across the line in 22nd position.
Photo: Václav Duška Jr.
Two World Supersport 300
James’s second outing at Misano was cut short when I rider fell in front of him. Despite his best efforts he was unable to avoid contact with the fallen rider and the result was he crashed out at turn four on the first lap. He did remount but was two laps behind by the time he got going again. His reason for continuing was to make sure he could get as much experience as possible.
Race Two World Supersport
Eugene was feeling positive going into the second race of the weekend. His lap time in Sunday morning warm up was a n excellent 1:40.248 the best he had managed all weekend. The first attempt at the second World Supersport race had to be aborted after it was red-flagged with 12 laps remaining. The re-start saw Eugene McManus running in 23rd early on. Setting a best lap time of 1:41.697 he went on to cross the finish line in very rewarding 20th position.
James said,” In free practice I was just learning the track. It was the first time I was here so I was just chipping away. In Superpole everyone was trying to get a tow and just trying to get the best position they can. So I had to try and do the same myself. My time wasn’t too bad. I got a decent start and had a battle with a group in the first race. In race two I got a good start but I got caught up in someone else’s crash at turn four. I got the bike back to pit lane and they fixed it up and I went back out just to get some laps in. A big thank you to my sponsors and Team #109.”
Eugene said,” Misano is a fantastic circuit. The weekend was tough and I spent the whole time learning. The times were a lot closer this weekend and my times were constantly improving. I was happy with the way the weekend went. In race one the track conditions were difficult because of the heat but it was the same for everyone. Warm up went really well and perhaps the cooler conditions helped me a little. We only made a few changes for race two and I am really happy to have finished in the top twenty. I must end by thanking my sponsors and also the WRP Wepol racing team for all their help.”
Next up
Eugene McManus has ended his duties covering for Danny Webb in the World Supersport Championship and will commence his season in the Pirelli National Junior Superstock series. Forming part of the British Superbike Championship he will ride for the Affinity Sports Academy team. The opening round is on 25-27 June at Oulton Park. James will be back in action at Donington Park on 2nd to 4th July.