Oulton Park proved to be a frustrating round for James McManus in the HEL Performance Junior Supersport support class of British Superbikes. Race one was abandoned after being red-flagged on two occasions on after James had made a superb start in both attempts. In race two he fell whilst third, at Hislop’s chicane on the fourth lap of the race, having briefly held the led earlier on.
Qualifying
James McManus was quickly inside the top ten during the qualifying session. At one stage he was running fourth fastest just three-tenths away from the front row. With 6 minutes remaining he was 7th having set a lap time of 1:52.992. By his eighth lap he had improved to 1:52.775 but remained seventh.
With a couple of minutes left on the clock McManus posted a 1:52.112 putting him provisional fourth. In the end he would qualify fifth in a very tight group of rider which saw second to fifth separated by just 0.153 seconds.
Race One
After two red-flagged attempts to get the Junior Supersport race underway the clock was ticking and the race was eventually cancelled. It was a shame because McManus was showing great pace having launched himself off the grid rising from fifth to second into the first corner both times.
Race Two
James McManus made another good start from the middle of row two. He quickly slotted into third place as the riders swept through the opening corners. As they rounded Island bend on lap one he moved into second position before taking the race lead out of the final corner and over the line as they started lap two.
The following lap he was pushed slightly wide and slipped back to third as a group of six riders began to break-away from the rest of the field.
On lap three he oscillated between second and third in the race before he lost the front on lap four riding though Hislop’s chicane. He slid off unhurt onto the grass.
He remains 9th in the overall standings with 79 points. There are two rounds fo the 2021 season left to go.
James McManus said,” Clearly not the result we were looking for. The positive thing is we were fast all weekend. We are at the sharp end and we still have four more races and I am confident we will be running at the front.”
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