4 June 2016 Road Racing 2016 Podium finish for John McGuinness and Honda Racing in the Isle of Man TT Superbike race Is
Posted: Sat Jun 04, 2016 5:25 pm
4 June 2016 Road #Racing 2016 Podium finish for John @McGuinness and @Honda Racing in the #IsleofManTT #Superbike race Isle of Man TT TT, Isle of Man
Honda Racing and John McGuinness took the third place spot in today’s fast-paced RST Superbike race at the Isle of Man TT. In near-perfect conditions the race got underway on time at 11am, with McGuinness first away with the number one plate on the Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade SP machine.
A dramatic six-lap race quickly unfolded with blistering pace and speeds seen from the front-runners, with the first ever sub 17-minute lap recorded after just one lap. At the end of the second lap the ‘Morecambe Missile’ was sitting fourth as he came in for the first pit stop. As usual from the slick Honda crew, McGuinness left the pits no sooner than he’d entered, making up seven seconds and pushing himself into the third spot.
On the fourth lap of the TT circuit McGuinness was holding third place and was the fastest man, posting a 131.538mph lap. Again a super-quick pit stop from the team saw ten further seconds pulled back as the Honda man headed out for the final two laps.
The next two laps saw McGuinness chip away and hold for some time his lead on the road. After 226-miles and six-laps McGuinness and the Fireblade crossed the line in third place, behind Ian Hutchinson and race winner Michael Dunlop.
It was an unfortunate race for team-mate Conor Cummins who was forced to retire on the first lap at Ballaugh after experiencing a technical issue with his machine, which is being looked into by the Honda Racing team. However before retiring Cummins was showing good pace and had matched the time of his team-mate to Glen Helen, which is a positive he will take into the Senior race.
The next outing for the Honda Racing squad will be on Wednesday with a practice session ahead of Friday’s blue-riband Senior TT.
Neil Tuxworth
Team Manager
Well we’ve just had the first race of the TT, the Superbike race, and we’re extremely pleased with John’s third place and podium finish. Realistically we can say that was probably the best we could have hoped for in the race from either of our riders, as the strength of Dunlop and Hutchinson throughout the week has been impressive. Obviously it was a disappointing result for Conor who experienced a small technical issue with his machine and had to retire on the first lap, which we will now look into and make sure we are ready for the Senior on Friday. John is pleased with his result, of course he would have liked to have won, but with the pace and speed throughout the six laps we’re pleased with his third place finish. We will all now re-group and re-focus ready for the Senior race.
- Honda Racing
John McGuinness 1
I dropped the clutch at the start and I thought I had a great run to Glen Helen, but when I saw my first pit board I was miles away! I just kept hitting my apexes and trying my best and then Hutchy blitzed me up towards Hailwood’s rise on the second lap, I was like oh dear I’m miles behind here, but it picked my pace up to be honest. I had a really great pit stop and came out in front of Hutchy, but I waved him past as I didn’t want to get involved in his race. I had a lot of fun during the race, the Fireblade was brilliant and I thought I rode pretty well, it’s my 20th TT, I can’t complain, I’m on the podium. My lap record is gone but hey it was always going to go; I’ve had it for ten years so I’m not disappointed. I’m really proud of what I’ve done on the Honda today and we are on the podium with two younger guys! On Friday I need to brake later and lean it over a bit further, that’s about all I could do. I will just do my best, it’s a long race, six laps, anything can happen, it’s tough and if these guys are going to be doing that from a standing start, it’s going to be really, really tough. I just want to enjoy myself, the Honda is a great bike, we have had some unbelievable success on it over the last eight years!
- Honda Racing
Conor Cummins 10
Unfortunately I had a DNF, but I felt my pace to Glen Helen was good and I recorded my best sector of the week to that point and I was feeling good. It’s a shame but these things do happen in racing, I know that my crew will look into things and have me ready to go again in Wednesday night’s practice ahead of the Senior on Friday. The setting we found last night with suspension in practice felt good and is definitely a step in the right direction. So we now refocus and prepare ourselves for next week.
- Honda Racing
Honda Racing and John McGuinness took the third place spot in today’s fast-paced RST Superbike race at the Isle of Man TT. In near-perfect conditions the race got underway on time at 11am, with McGuinness first away with the number one plate on the Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade SP machine.
A dramatic six-lap race quickly unfolded with blistering pace and speeds seen from the front-runners, with the first ever sub 17-minute lap recorded after just one lap. At the end of the second lap the ‘Morecambe Missile’ was sitting fourth as he came in for the first pit stop. As usual from the slick Honda crew, McGuinness left the pits no sooner than he’d entered, making up seven seconds and pushing himself into the third spot.
On the fourth lap of the TT circuit McGuinness was holding third place and was the fastest man, posting a 131.538mph lap. Again a super-quick pit stop from the team saw ten further seconds pulled back as the Honda man headed out for the final two laps.
The next two laps saw McGuinness chip away and hold for some time his lead on the road. After 226-miles and six-laps McGuinness and the Fireblade crossed the line in third place, behind Ian Hutchinson and race winner Michael Dunlop.
It was an unfortunate race for team-mate Conor Cummins who was forced to retire on the first lap at Ballaugh after experiencing a technical issue with his machine, which is being looked into by the Honda Racing team. However before retiring Cummins was showing good pace and had matched the time of his team-mate to Glen Helen, which is a positive he will take into the Senior race.
The next outing for the Honda Racing squad will be on Wednesday with a practice session ahead of Friday’s blue-riband Senior TT.
Neil Tuxworth
Team Manager
Well we’ve just had the first race of the TT, the Superbike race, and we’re extremely pleased with John’s third place and podium finish. Realistically we can say that was probably the best we could have hoped for in the race from either of our riders, as the strength of Dunlop and Hutchinson throughout the week has been impressive. Obviously it was a disappointing result for Conor who experienced a small technical issue with his machine and had to retire on the first lap, which we will now look into and make sure we are ready for the Senior on Friday. John is pleased with his result, of course he would have liked to have won, but with the pace and speed throughout the six laps we’re pleased with his third place finish. We will all now re-group and re-focus ready for the Senior race.
- Honda Racing
John McGuinness 1
I dropped the clutch at the start and I thought I had a great run to Glen Helen, but when I saw my first pit board I was miles away! I just kept hitting my apexes and trying my best and then Hutchy blitzed me up towards Hailwood’s rise on the second lap, I was like oh dear I’m miles behind here, but it picked my pace up to be honest. I had a really great pit stop and came out in front of Hutchy, but I waved him past as I didn’t want to get involved in his race. I had a lot of fun during the race, the Fireblade was brilliant and I thought I rode pretty well, it’s my 20th TT, I can’t complain, I’m on the podium. My lap record is gone but hey it was always going to go; I’ve had it for ten years so I’m not disappointed. I’m really proud of what I’ve done on the Honda today and we are on the podium with two younger guys! On Friday I need to brake later and lean it over a bit further, that’s about all I could do. I will just do my best, it’s a long race, six laps, anything can happen, it’s tough and if these guys are going to be doing that from a standing start, it’s going to be really, really tough. I just want to enjoy myself, the Honda is a great bike, we have had some unbelievable success on it over the last eight years!
- Honda Racing
Conor Cummins 10
Unfortunately I had a DNF, but I felt my pace to Glen Helen was good and I recorded my best sector of the week to that point and I was feeling good. It’s a shame but these things do happen in racing, I know that my crew will look into things and have me ready to go again in Wednesday night’s practice ahead of the Senior on Friday. The setting we found last night with suspension in practice felt good and is definitely a step in the right direction. So we now refocus and prepare ourselves for next week.
- Honda Racing