|
McGuinness and Shoei win Centinary
Superbike TT
Monday, June 4, 2007
McGuinness and Shoei do it again!
Morecambe´s John McGuinness put in yet another brilliant performance at the Isle of Man TT Races today when he took the 6-lap Superbike race, to claim his 12th TT victory in total. Riding the HM Plant Honda Fireblade, John was never headed and he took the chequered flag almost 26 seconds clear of nearest rival Guy Martin.
With the race postponed from Saturday, the Island dawned to a damp and misty start so it was 12.45pm before proceedings could get underway but, despite the numerous damp patches, McGuinness put in his usual blistering opening lap and a speed of 127.804mph saw him 4.5 seconds clear. With the sun breaking through, John was still under pressure from Martin but he really flew over the Mountain and a new class lap record of 128.279mph saw him take command.
A superb pit stop for both fuel and a new rear tyre saw his lead up to 17 seconds and from here, he continued to build on his advantage, extending it at one stage to over 36 seconds. Another great pit stop at the end of lap four saw his lead maintained and he was able to ride to his signals for the remaining two laps for his third successive TT Superbike victory, and his 12th in total, the third highest number recorded in the 100-year history of the event.
Speaking afterwards, a jubilant John commented:
"It´s unbelievable to take the win today and winning at the 100th Centenary races is something special. I´m not getting any younger and these young guns keep nipping at my heels but I trained really hard over the winter to get myself properly fit and it paid dividends today. It was quite damp at the beginning and I had a few slides but I had a real good go from the off and it all worked out perfectly."
"There wasn´t much in it on the first lap but I pushed hard on the second lap and had a real good run over the Mountain which allowed me to open up a bit more of a gap. The pit stops were brilliant - they were cool, calm and calculated and there was no panic at all. I have 100% faith in the boys and they proved once again they´re the best in the business. There´s been a lot of pressure on me and it´s felt like I´ve had 18 tons of sand on my back so I was fairly emotional on the final lap. I´ve never seen so many people around the circuit, they must have been 6 or 7 deep in places, so I hope they enjoyed the race and that it was worth the wait."
"To take my 12th win today and move ahead of names like Steve Hislop and Phillip McCallen is pretty good and, like I say, winning at the 100th TT is a very special feeling. There´s still plenty of racing left though so let´s hope the week continues in the same vein."
|
 |
