Irish rookie Rhys Irwin produced another impressive outing on board his MasterMac Honda as the British Superbike Championship visited the famous ‘Cathedral of Speed’ Assen circuit in the Netherlands.

The reigning British Supersport champion seized an excellent P12 grid position in qualifying before adding to his championship points haul with P15 in a hotly contested, rain-affected opening race.

That proved to be the best of the weekend for the team as Rhys fell in race two before picking up P17 in the closing race.

His fellow rookie teammate Eugene McManus competed hard for his P18 and P16 respectively in the first two races, before having to retire in the third.

Steve Hicken, MasterMac Honda’s team manager, reflected:

“It was arguably always going to be one of the toughest weekends of the season for us, with Assen being a new and quite different test for Rhys and Eugene on a superbike.

“They both enjoyed plenty of good moments, including one of our best qualifying performances this year from Rhys, and they’ll have learned plenty in the process too.

“Racing overseas is a real adventure and also a big commitment for everyone involved, so I’d also like to thank all of our sponsors, supporters and crew for making it possible.

“As we near the end of the season we’re looking forward to being back near home at Donington for the next round, when Rhys and Eugene have a great opportunity to show how they’ve progressed over the course of their first season in the championship.”

The team will return to action when ZYN BSB visits Donington for the final time this year, from 2-4 October.