The Completely Motorbikes / Affinity Sports Academy rider picked up two 14th place finishes to get his first season in British Supersport off to a great start at Silverstone this weekend.
The 2022 British Junior Supersport champion has switched manufacture and category for the 2023 season. James now rides a Triumph in the British Supersport category alongside his older brother Eugene McManus.
James got a taste of the Silverstone National circuit at the recent BSB pre-season test but, as were all the riders, he was hampered by poor weather and completed only a few laps.
However, come race weekend the weather was completely different with a dry weekend throughout the three-day event.
Qualifying
James made steady progress finishing P20 in both free practice sessions
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After an early red flag delayed the session James made solid progress. James qualified 20th in the British Supersport class. He would line up 23rd on the grid which the Supersport class share with the GP2 riders.
Sprint Race (18 laps)
James had a difficult opening to the race with a difficult first lap that saw him drop six positions to 29th on the track (21st in the Supersport class).
He soon began to make amends though and was overtaking competitors at a rate of almost two per lap as he rose to 17th on the track by lap 5 in the British Supersport Class and 20th overall.
James McManus continued to improve his pace. Just after the halfway stage, he set his three fastest laps. He went on to cross the line in 14th in the British Supersport class at the flag meaning on his debut race he collected two championship points.
Feature Race (25 laps)
The number 14 rider made a much better start on his Triumph this time around. By the end of the first lap, he had risen from his grid position of 21st to 17th.
James continued to move up the leaderboard. As he headed into the final couple of laps he was in 14th position once again. Although he briefly lost the position to a much more experienced rider he took it back to collect another two championship points for his second 14th-place finish of the weekend.
James said, “Was a good first weekend for me in the Supersport class. Steady improvements throughout the weekend and two solid finishes. Finishing in the points on my first weekend really cemented a great weekend. I’d like to thank Completely Motorbikes Triumph for their help and also Affinity Sports Academy and I am looking forward to Oulton Park.”
