McGuinness takes superb Senior TT victory & outright lap record
John McGuinness took his 23rd Isle of Man TT race victory in sensational style on Friday afternoon when he not only won the Senior race but also reclaimed the outright lap record with a stunning speed of 132.701mph.
The Honda Racing rider, backed by Dennison Trailers, was lying in second place when the race was red flagged due to an incident after a lap and a half but when it was restarted over four laps, rather than the original six, he made no mistake and set the fastest ever standing start lap with a speed of 131.850mph.
It gave him an early lead of 1.2s over Ian Hutchinson but it was on the second lap around the Mountain Course when he created history again by smashing the outright lap record and reclaiming it for the first time since 2013. With Hutchinson also making a mistake on the second lap, it gave him an extended lead of 10.9s as he made his first pit stop.
Upon leaving the pits, his lead had increased again thanks to a superb stop by his team and going into the final lap around the 37.73-mile course, his lead was a healthy 17.5s. The 43-year old put in yet another 131mph+ lap on his final lap to come home 14.2s clear of James Hillier with Hutchinson in third. It was his 23rd TT win and 44th podium in his phenomenal career.
John McGuinness: “It’s absolutely incredible, I’m so, so happy. A lot of people had written me off before today and a few things had fired me up including seeing my odds at the bookies were 16-1! I’ve seen all sorts on pit boards this week from P8 to P45 so P1 today looked a lot better. I was mega-determined right from when the flag dropped and the start was mint. I went into Quarter Bridge faster than I’ve ever gone before, hit all my apexes and braked as late as I could everywhere. The first lap felt quick but the second definitely felt quicker and I was trying for sure.”
“I had no moments and everything was perfect but I could feel the bike moving around beneath me like never before. I was definitely finding the limits on that lap but I was relaxed and let the bike to do the work today rather than me. When I came into the pits and heard the crowd cheering I guessed something special had happened and all the way round the course on the third lap the crowd were waving and cheering. They were absolutely incredible. Conditions were beautiful, the bike was mint and the real John McGuinness turned up today!”
Pictures by Pacemaker Press International
