James McManus finished his two World Supersport 300 races at Assen in 21st and 35th for Team #109. It was his first time at the famous TT circuit Assen.
Free Practice
James’ goal on day one was to learn another new circuit. On a bright day in Assen he clocked a 1:52.834 if free practice one. They made some set up changes for the next session and James managed a 1:53.001. Not entirely happy with the alterations to the settings the team partly reversed some of the changes for Superpole.
Superpole
Superpole was the usual cat and mouse event with 40 plus riders looking for a tow but being wary not to be caught riding too slowly to incur the wrath of Race Direction. Of course if you did manage to find a tow then, as it is for all the riders, you can easily come across traffic with so many competitors on the circuit at one time.
James completed 10 laps during the session and qualified 39th on the grid with a time of 1:52.433.
Race One
McManus made a really positive start to the 14 lap race, making up seven positions on the first lap. The race saw a high attrition rate of riders as McManus continued to improve his track position. Reaching the chequered flag after 64 kilomtres of racing McManus crossed the line in 21st position. His best lap time was only a tenth outside his qualifying time.
Race Two
Sunday saw the second 14-lap race of the weekend. At the end of lap one James McManus was in 35th position. He managed to gain another place on lap two. As the race continued James battled with Frappola, Offer and Khouri.
McManus remained steady in 34th position for several laps. He then lost a couple of positions as the race closed out before regaining one and then going on to cross the line to finish 35th.
James said, “To race here is amazing. This is a proper grand prix track. I have never ridden here before so the whole weekend was one big learning curve. I would like to thank Paul Tobin and Team #109 for a great bike and all my sponsors.”