Thirteen and counting
Hop, skip and jump. And that’s just our hearts watching this superstar at the TT.
Picture by Double Red.
John McGuinness talks to John Brown on the eve of his bid to add more TT wins to his incredible record.
“There’s just nothing as satisfying as shutting down the visor and heading off down Bray Hill on a sunny race day in the Isle of Man.” The man speaking is John McGuinness, one of the all-time TT greats with 13 wins and the outright lap record of more than 130mph to his name. This will be his 12th year of island racing and he is relaxed and confident.
“I’ve nothing to prove, my head’s not on the chopping block any more and if I never win again it won’t take away the sheer enjoyment I get from racing round the Mountain Course,” said the Morecambe man who is just one win short of equalling Mike Hailwood’s tally of 14 TT wins.
“Of course, being up there with Mike, who is held in such esteem by everyone connected with the TT, is something to go for,” he said. “I’m sure I won’t beat Joey’s (Dunlop) record!”
McGuinness had to wait a while to finalise a satisfactory deal to get competitive bikes following Honda’s decision not to officially support the TT this time round. No way was he going to accept racing a machine that wasn’t capable of putting him among the frontrunners.
“If I get beaten, fair enough, but I want to be in with a shout on competitive bikes,” he reasoned.
Now he has got those bikes. Again they are Hondas, but this time entered and prepared by his long established British Supersport Championship sponsor Padgetts of Batley. And there will be support from Honda’s British race HQ in Louth.
There have been strong rumours that this would be his last TT but they have been kicked into touch with his signature now on a contract to spearhead Honda’s efforts in 2009, the 50th anniversary of the factory’s TT debut.
He said: “Half of me says that will be the end after that but then the other half reminds me that Hizzy (Steve Hislop) was 41 years old when he won a TT and I’m only just 36,” he said over a coffee when we met recently in London.
“My brain is still in gear – I feel good and simply want to go racing. I’m proud to have won 13 races and to be honest still feel as though I am 21. So the answer to ‘when will I pack in?’ is, I don’t know, but it won’t be until after 2009.”
The great bonus of having signed so early for next year is that he will be able to relax during the off-season. He said: “It is as good as anything to be in a position of not having to worry about getting suitable bikes. This year it took some time to sort out and I wasn’t able to make any precise decisions about my racing.”
The machines he will have at the TT are duplicates of those being raced in the Bennetts British Superbike series by Leon Haslam and Cal Crutchlow. He said: “They will be as good as anything on the Course. Clive (Padgett) who is preparing them will make sure of that. With Honda’s help he is building a bike that is a potential winner. If enthusiasm counts we have won already. Clive is simply fantastic, there’s no holding him back.”
The fact that the Superbike and Senior race Hondas will be turned out in Padgetts’ colours, and not the official factory livery of the past, doesn’t concern McGuinness. “I don’t care what colour they are. They could be pink with a vibrator on the fairing for all I care,” he said in typical lighthearted fashion.
- End of Sample - Full story page 8
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