Rhys Irwin showcased his talent with a classy ride in the opening ZYN British Superbike Championship race of a weekend full of ups and downs for MasterMac Honda at Cadwell Park.

The reigning British Supersport champion, who is in his rookie year in the premier class, made multiple passes to climb all the way from 20th on the grid to an excellent P12 finish. Meanwhile his teammate Eugene McManus navigated a dramatic race that featured several crashes, to score points in P15.

The weekend also got off to a strong start for Dan Brooks on board the MasterMac Honda in the Pirelli National Superstock series. Starting from 18th on the grid, he moved up the field nicely to add to his championship points tally with a P13 finish.

The second race day, though, went much less according to plan. While Irwin delivered two solid rides to finish P17 and P18 in the ZYN BSB races, unfortunately McManus crashed out in the first and retired from the second.

Brooks also came unstuck with a big crash on the opening lap of the remaining Superstock race, while thankfully avoiding any serious injury.

Team manager Steve Hicken said:

“Cadwell Park is a circuit unlike any other and the various crashes, whether involving our riders or not, showed how challenging it is to go well there.

“I must give massive credit to the crew for the work they did over the weekend, but particularly in getting Eugene out for the last race.

“Rhys rode absolutely brilliantly in the opening race and that’s a big plus to take away from a weekend that proved to be a tough one overall.”

The next round of ZYN BSB is an international affair as the team heads to Assen in the Netherlands from 18-20 September.