Victorious McGuinness celebrates Honda’s 131st TT win
HM Plant Honda stormed to victory in the Superbike race at the 100th Isle of Man TT, with John McGuinness taking his 12th win and team-mate Ian Hutchinson finishing in third place. The opening lap of six saw McGuinness instantly take control of the race, leading by 1.86 seconds on reaching the Ramsey Hairpin. The 35-year-old rode with caution around the damp 37.73-mile circuit, but was keen to pull a lead over second-place man Guy Martin.
Hutchinson completed the first lap in third position, just 6.28 seconds behind Martin. The 27-year-old maintained this position throughout and managed to pull a 15.26 lead over fourth-placed Martin Finnegan, after the first circuit.
McGuinness steadily extended his lead over Martin, and was already some six seconds ahead at the first of two pit-stops. The Morecambe-based riders stop ran like clockwork, and gave him a further 6.5 second advantage. Hutchinson entered the stop-box at the same time as two other riders and with a scurry to his team made a quick efficient stop to make time up on Martin.
Both riders got away quickly and smoothly, with McGuinness still controlling the race. By the end of lap three the Dunlop-backed rider had pulled a 22 second lead over Martin while Hutchinson continued in third place some 43 seconds behind the race leader.
The drying track saw McGuinness get yet another superb pit-stop of just 40 seconds at the end of lap four, which gained him a further eight second advantage. Hutchinson once again pitted in at almost the same time as Martin to get another good stop and exited to circulate closely with both Martin and Ian Lougher.
McGuinness’s 26 second lead allowed him to ride with more precaution for the final two laps, which saw him take the race win ahead of Martin at the prestigious Centenary TT festival.
Hutchinson crossed the line in a superb third position, some 18 seconds ahead of Finnegan, making it a Honda one-two-three and six Honda CBR1000RR Fireblades in the top six a testament to the strength of Honda machinery on the roads.
John McGuinness
Superbike TT P1
I am very pleased as I really wanted to win a Centenary TT. The standard of competition is very high and I’ve been working very hard to get in shape over the winter as the TT really is the highlight of my year. I felt very strong and wanted to keep all the younger riders at bay so I pushed as hard as I could, but there were a lot of damp patches on the first lap so I had to take some precaution. The pit-stops were amazing, the team worked superbly and it helped me even further. Obviously there is a lot of pressure as we build up to the races but I feel so relieved and it’s great to do it in front of such a big crowd. The machinery worked well so a big thanks to both the team and to Honda. It wasn’t all plain sailing, I had a few big moments but once I saw I had a 30 second lead I was able to steady up on the last two laps and just wanted to bring the bike home safely. Hopefully we can repeat this in the other races.
Ian Hutchinson
Superbike TT P3
The first two laps cost me the race because I’m not as confident in the damp patches around the circuit. I am pleased with the result but by the pit-stop there was not much I could do but maintain the third place I was in. The pit-stop went really well, a big thanks to the team and to Honda as everything worked really well. Luckily I had a big lead over fourth place and was able to maintain that to the end. It’s great to be on the podium and I hope to get more good results for HM Plant Honda during the rest of the week.
Team Manager Neil Tuxworth
We are absolutely delighted to have six Hondas in the top six positions as this is an incredible achievement. The result for HM Plant Honda is brilliant as John controlled the race from start to finish and was never challenged. It was Ian’s first TT with the team and to finish on the podium was also excellent. All four pit-stops were very smooth and the team have worked incredibly hard over the last few weeks so we are very pleased with the results today.
