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John McGuinness (motorcyclist)

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For other people named John McGuinness, see John McGuinness (disambiguation).

John McGuinness
McGuinness after winning the 2013 Senior TT
NationalityEnglish
Born (1972-04-16) 16 April 1972 (age 52)
Morecambe, Lancashire, England
Current teamHonda Racing UK[1]
Bike number1
WebsiteJohn McGuinness
Motorcycle racing career statistics
Isle of Man TT career
TTs contested24 (1996–2000, 2002–2016, 2019, 2022, 2023- 2024)
TT wins23
First TT win1999 Lightweight 250 TT
Last TT win2015 Senior TT
TT podiums47
TT Course personal fastest lap
132.701 mph or 213.562 km/h

John Warren McGuinness MBE (16 April 1972[2]) is an English motorcycle road racer, best known as a specialist at the Isle of Man TT, where he has won 23 races and sits 3rd in the all-time win list behind Michael Dunlop and Joey Dunlop. He and Mike Hailwood hold the record for the most Senior TT wins: 7.

Until early 2017 he had a long association with Honda machines, having factory support in road races like the Isle of Man TT, the North West 200 and the Macau Grand Prix, and also on the short tracks in the British Superstock and Supersport series.

In May 2017 McGuinness suffered serious injuries during practice for a race in Northern Ireland, ending his race participation for the remainder of the season.[3][4] The accident occurred shortly after the release of his book.[5]

In January 2018 he announced his intended return as a TT rider, but had not sufficiently recovered to compete, and in April announced that a setback had prevented any competitive riding. He was able to complete a Parade lap of the TT circuit on a Norton SG4 during the June 2018 event, but returned in August to win the 2018 Classic TT on the 500 cc Paton.[6]

In May/June 2019 McGuinness returned to the TT races, riding a large capacity Norton without success, but again renewed his association with smaller-capacity Hondas, finishing in places 15 and 17 in the two Supersport 600 races, second place in the TT Zero electric race,[7] and another win in August's Classic TT, part of the Manx Grand Prix race weeks.[8]

In 2013, a left-hand bend on the Snaefell Mountain Course used for the TT races before the top of Barregarrow on the main A3 road was named McGuinness's in recognition of his wins, together with Dave Molyneux who was similarly honoured.[9]

He was part of a multi-rider motorcycle endurance-racing team called Honda TT Legends.[10] In April 2016, the RAC announced McGuinness as recipient of the Segrave Trophy for 2015.[11]

Early life

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McGuinness was born and raised in Morecambe, Lancashire. He started competing in motocross at around seven, and continued until his teens. He withdrew from what was supposed to be his first race a few seconds before the start, due to anxiety.[12] His first experience of motorcycle road racing was in 1982, at age 10, with his father, who was competing in the Jurby races, in the Isle of Man.[13]

His father owned a motorcycle repair shop but advised John to train as a bricklayer. Graduating in 1990, the resultant recession forced him into cockle fishing with his future father-in-law. McGuinness’ first race on tarmac was a club road race at Aintree in 1990, at age 18. He finished in last position.[14]

Isle of Man TT

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McGuinness’ first Isle of Man TT race was in 1996 on a Honda RS250R, finishing 15th.[13] He took his first win in the Lightweight 250cc race three years later, the year he also became British 250 Champion.[15]

2006

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TT 2006 proved to be the best ever for McGuinness. He won three races (Senior, Superbike and Supersport) and he lowered the outright lap record four times during the festival. This all started in the TT Superbike race on 3 June, recording 17:42.53 from a standing start, then 17:41.71 on the second lap. His record lap stood at 127.933 mph to take in the 37.73 miles of the Mountain course, before another record-breaking performance in the Senior TT race on 9 June. John set a time of 17:39.95 from a standing start (already 1.76 seconds faster than a racing lap) and then blitzed the course in 17:29.26, 10.69 seconds faster than his opening lap and at an average speed of 129.451 mph.

2007

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McGuinness at the start of the 2007 Senior TT; the race in which he became the first rider to lap the Snaefell Mountain Course at over 130 miles per hour in race conditions.

TT 2007 was also a great year with McGuinness taking wins in the Superbike TT and the Senior TT with lap and race records in both, the Senior lap record of 17:21.99 averaging 130.354 mph not only the outright lap record but the first to break the 130 mph barrier.

2008

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The 2008 Isle of Man TT saw McGuinness struggle with reliability problems with his bikes, but did manage to pick up his 14th career win on the island, in the Senior TT. This win moved him alongside Mike Hailwood as the joint second-placed rider with most wins.

2009

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McGuinness surpassed Hailwood's mark during the rain-delayed opening race of the 2009 Isle of Man TT on 8 June 2009. After Cameron Donald unofficially lapped the course at over 131 mph during practice, McGuinness broke the outright lap record by 0.7 seconds, taking the lap record to 17:21.29 or 130.442 mph. McGuinness held off team-mate Steve Plater by 18.11 seconds to record victory number fifteen. That was his only win and podium of the week; however, he did finish the week with a new outright lap record, and the fastest lap ever recorded with a 17:12.30 or 131.578 mph lap on the second lap of the Senior TT. A broken chain cost him a runaway victory, as Plater took his second career TT win.

He has also finished on the podium at the Macau Grand Prix.

McGuinness also contested the British Superstock championship, taking victory at Croft after his team-mate Steve Brogan and champion Alastair Seeley tangled in the final corner.[16] This was his first short-circuit race win since 2001 in the British Supersport series, which he finished in third place overall.

2010

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McGuinness during practice for the 2010 Isle of Man TT.

McGuinness was confirmed as part of the HM Plant Honda team for the North West 200 and Isle of Man TT events, also he is confirmed with Padgetts Motorcycles (Padgetts Grand Prix). Entered in the British superstock championship alongside new team mate's Glen Richards and Ian Hutchinson (road racing events).

At the 2010 North West 200 meeting, McGuinness took his fifth win around the 8.9-mile circuit when he took victory in the Superbike race and he followed this up with third in the feature race behind Alastair Seeley and Stuart Easton. He also took fifth and sixth in the two Supersport races and ninth in the Superstock.

2011

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John McGuinness secured his 16th TT success by winning the six-lap Superbike TT in perfect conditions. The Honda rider from England came home 56 seconds ahead of runner-up Cameron Donald, with Gary Johnson third. Keith Amor, Ballymoney's Michael Dunlop and Dan Stewart completed the top six leaderboard in the TT opener. New Zealander Bruce Anstey led for part of the race but retired on lap three after setting the fastest lap of the race at 131.05 mph. At the end of lap one McGuinness led by 0.5 seconds from Anstey, with Johnson third and Guy Martin fourth. Anstey assumed the lead after the second circuit, thanks to his lap at over 131 mph, with Martin up to third and Johnson fourth. A quick pitstop by McGuinness saw him move into the lead again and then Anstey retired his Padgetts Honda at Quarry Bends. Morecambe-man McGuinness led Martin by 19 seconds after lap three and lap four.

He then went on to finish 5th in the Supersport TT Race 1 and scored 2nd places in both the Supersport TT Race 2 and Superstock TT Race before claiming his 17th TT win in the Senior TT

2012

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John McGuinness was again representing the Honda spear-head at the 2012 TT. During the practice week, times were close between the various favoured entrants, but McGuinness topped the practice leader board in the Superbike class.

Initially lying second behind Cameron Donald by 2/10ths of a second at the end of the opening lap in the Superbike race,[17] McGuinness brought all his experience to bear over the second lap to lead the race by 2.16 seconds following the pit stop at the end of lap two.[17] By the end of the third lap, the lead had increased to 6.30 seconds. McGuinness continued his commanding performance throughout the remainder of the race, to clinch victory by 14.86 seconds by the end of the six laps.

John was congratulated on his Superbike triumph by his close friend, Mark Webber.[18]

The Superstock TT had been until 2012, one of the few classes which had eluded McGuinness. However, aboard the Padgett's Honda Fireblade, McGuinness rode what was widely regarded as an imperious performance to clinch his initial win in the class, and to raise his overall tally to 19 wins.[19]

McGuinness then recorded a respectable 4th place in the first Supersport race, which he then followed up with 5th place in the second race in the Supersport class.[20]

2013

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In 2013, McGuinness won the 6-lap Senior TT, the final race of the event.[21] It was his sixth victory in the Senior TT, one short of the record of seven victories held by Mike Hailwood.[21] He also set the outright one lap record for the Mountain Course, 131.671 mph, in the final lap of the Superbike race in which he finished third[21] during a week dominated by Ulsterman Michael Dunlop's four wins, reminiscent of Ian Hutchinson's five wins of 2010.

TT Zero

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2012 also saw McGuinness make his debut in the TT Zero class. The involvement of McGuinness, together with that of Mugen was seen as a clear indication of the rising profile of a class of racing still in its infancy.

Riding the Mugen Motorsports experimental machine, McGuinness recorded a second place behind Michael Rutter on the MotoCzysz.

2013 again saw the same race result, with McGuinness second to winner Rutter, both riding similar machines to previously.

2014, a battered McGuinness who suffered a motocross accident weeks before the start of the Road Racing season, injuring his right wrist badly, and also suffered liver and other minor injuries. John struggled at his first international road racing meeting of the year the North West 200 and also posted disappointing results at the 2014 Isle of Man TT. On 4 June, John and Padgetts Racing announced he had withdrawn from the second Supersport race, but still raced the TT Zero class, and won it with an enormous lap record, 117.366 MP/H, beating the current Sidecar lap record, and came only 1.8 seconds shy to the current Lightweight 650cc Supertwin one lap record. Portugal

2017 Accident

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In May 2017 McGuinness suffered serious injuries during practice for the Superbike race at the North West 200 event in Northern Ireland, causing broken vertebrae, ribs and compound fractures to his right lower leg bones, requiring surgeons to remove 50 mm (2.0 in) and needing an external fixator cage to 'grow' new bone. McGuinness used a spanner to regularly adjust the cage, creating a 1 millimetre gap across which the new bone growth occurs.[3][4]

In July 2017, Honda Racing, a British business based in Louth, Lincolnshire which provided the new model Honda Fireblade under early development,[22] confirmed the accident was caused by an electronics fault in the special race-kit when the engine unexpectedly accelerated.

During an interview in late August 2017, McGuinness confirmed his treatment would be ongoing until early 2018, and that he was unsure if he would have the physical capability or confidence to race 1000 cc Superbikes again, but he did not discount the possibility of riding in the smaller Supertwin, electric and classic categories.[3]

2018 Return

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In January 2018 he announced his intended-return as a TT rider with Norton Motorcycles as team-mate to Josh Brookes,[23] but his recovery was not complete and in April announced via social media that he had suffered a setback that prevented any competitive riding.[24][25] He was able to complete a Parade lap of the TT circuit on a Norton SG4 during the June 2018 event,[26] but returned in August to win the 2018 Classic TT on the 500 cc Paton.[6]

2019

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In May/June 2019, McGuinness made a return to the TT races, riding Nortons in both Junior and large capacity races without success,[27] but again renewed his association with Padgetts Hondas finishing in places 15 and 17 for the two Supersport 600 races, and second place in the TT Zero electric race with a Honda/Mugen.[7] In August, he won the Classic TT on a Paton.[28]

2022

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After the cancellation of the 2020 and 2021 events due to the COVID-19 pandemic, McGuinness next competed at the TT in 2022. He made his 100th TT start in the Superbike race, finishing 5th.[29]

MotoGP

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McGuinness entered four rounds of the MotoGP World Championship, one in 250 cc class and the other three in the 500 cc class, between 1997 and 2000 with a best result of 12th.[30]

Racing statistics

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TT race victories

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[31]

Year Race & Capacity Motorcycle Average Speed
2015 Senior TT Honda 130.48 mph
2015 TT Zero Mugen 119.27 mph
2014 TT Zero Mugen 117.36 mph
2013 Senior TT Honda 128.94 mph
2012 Superstock TT Honda 126.65 mph
2012 Superbike TT Honda 128.07 mph
2011 Senior TT Honda 128.42 mph
2011 Superbike TT Honda 127.87 mph
2009 Superbike TT Honda 127.99 mph
2008 Senior TT Honda 127.18 mph
2007 Senior TT Honda 127.25 mph
2007 Superbike TT Honda 125.55 mph
2006 Senior TT Honda 126.17 mph
2006 Supersport TT Honda 122.26 mph
2006 Superbike TT Honda 124.76 mph
2005 Senior TT Yamaha 124.32 mph
2005 Superbike TT Yamaha 124.12 mph
2004 Formula One TT Yamaha 125.38 mph
2004 Lightweight 400cc TT Honda 110.28 mph
2004 Junior 600cc TT Yamaha 120.57 mph
2003 Lightweight 400cc TT Honda 109.52 mph
2000 Singles TT Chrysalis 109.63 mph
1999 Lightweight 250 TT Honda 116.79 mph

TT career summary

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Position 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th 10th 11th 12th 15th 17th 18th 24th DNF
No of times 23 13 11 6 9 5 6 3 3 2 1 1 3 1 1 1 17

Last updated in June 2024

Personal life

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McGuinness and wife Becky have two children. They have been together since John was 16.[32] Living in Morecambe, he was given the Freedom of the Town in 2007. His first book, an autobiography entitled Built for Speed, was released in May 2017.[5]

In July 2017 McGuinness was awarded an Honorary Fellowship from Myerscough College in Preston for his achievements in motorcycling.[33] He attended the ceremony despite still recuperating from his extensive injuries as a result of his major crash two months previously.[34]

McGuinness was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2021 New Year Honours for services to motorcycle racing.[35][36]

References

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  1. ^ John McGuinness given number one plate as Superbike start numbers revealed for Isle of Man TT Belfast Newsletter, 25 March, 2022. Retrieved 22 April 2022
  2. ^ England and Wales births Retrieved 4 July 2015
  3. ^ a b c John Mcguinness to retire from superbikes? "Possibly. Probably." BikeSocial, 28 August 2017, Retrieved 1 September 2017
  4. ^ a b Honda confirm cause of McGuinness crash Motorcycle News, 26 July 2017. Retrieved 1 September 2017
  5. ^ a b John McGuinness: Built for Speed - exclusive first review Archived 3 October 2017 at the Wayback Machine DriveTribe Retrieved 2 October 2017
  6. ^ a b McGuinness makes winning return to Isle of Man TT course iomtt.com, 25 August 2018. Retrieved 25 September 2018
  7. ^ a b Race results: John McGuinness iomtt.com Retrieved 1 September 2019
  8. ^ 2019 Classic TT: McGuinness dominates for Senior win Bike Sport News, 24 August 2019. Retrieved 10 January 2019
  9. ^ Manx Radio 10 April 2013 Retrieved 4 July 2015
  10. ^ Honda TT Legends 2012 team Retrieved 4 July 2015
  11. ^ RAC awards John McGuinness prestigious Segrave Trophy, IoM TT.com Retrieved 7 April 2016
  12. ^ McGuinness, John (2018). Built For Speed. Ebury Press. p. 7. ISBN 978-1785034817.
  13. ^ a b 2022 Isle of Man TT Preview with John McGuinness and Peter Hickman. Bennetts BikeSocial. 10 May 2022. Retrieved 30 May 2022.
  14. ^ McGuinness, John (2018). Built For Speed. Ebury Press. p. 62. ISBN 978-1785034817.
  15. ^ "John McGuinness". John McGuinness. Retrieved 15 May 2016.
  16. ^ Plater and McGuinness take top spot in Superstock and Supersport races Archived 26 November 2009 at the Wayback Machine
  17. ^ a b "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 26 October 2012. Retrieved 21 October 2012.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  18. ^ http://www.manxradiott365.com Archived 13 December 2013 at the Wayback Machine
  19. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 6 June 2012. Retrieved 10 June 2012.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  20. ^ "2012 TT Results - the official Isle of Man TT website". Archived from the original on 14 June 2012. Retrieved 10 June 2012.
  21. ^ a b c "RR News - McGuinness ends TT week on high with Senior triumph". Crash.net. Retrieved 15 May 2016.
  22. ^ Honda Racing Retrieved 1 September 2017
  23. ^ John McGuinness to make TT comeback with Norton BBC News, 7 February 2018. Retrieved 25 February 2018
  24. ^ McGuinness reveals injury set-back Motorcycle News, 11 April 2018. Retrieved 1 June 2018
  25. ^ John McGuinness rumoured to have re-broken right leg Archived 16 June 2018 at the Wayback Machine MoreBikes, 11 April 2018. Retrieved 1 June 2018
  26. ^ John McGuinness back on his bike with Isle of Man TT parade lap The Visitor, 4 June 2018. Retrieved 16 June 2018
  27. ^ McGuinness "surprised, disappointed" with Norton IoM TT problems Autosport.com, June 2019. Retrieved 1 September 2019
  28. ^ 2019 Classic TT: McGuinness ‘never tired of winning here’ bikesportnews.com, 25 August 2019. Retrieved 1 September 2019
  29. ^ "McGuinness completes 100th race at the Isle of Man TT". ITV News. 4 June 2022. Retrieved 10 June 2022.
  30. ^ "· John Mcguinness". Motogp.com. 16 April 1974. Archived from the original on 3 July 2017. Retrieved 15 May 2016.
  31. ^ "Competitor Profile: John McGuinness".
  32. ^ McGuinness, John (2018). Built For Speed. Ebury Press. p. 41. ISBN 978-1785034817.
  33. ^ "Honorary Fellows | Myerscough College". www.myerscough.ac.uk. Archived from the original on 3 December 2019. Retrieved 1 July 2019.
  34. ^ "Six new Honorary Fellowships awarded | Myerscough College". www.myerscough.ac.uk. Retrieved 1 July 2019.
  35. ^ "No. 63218". The London Gazette (Supplement). 31 December 2020. p. N21.
  36. ^ "John McGuinness MBE – An interview". SuperBike Magazine. Retrieved 8 July 2021.
[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to John McGuinness (motorcycle racer).
Sporting positions
Preceded by Macau Motorcycle Grand Prix
Winner
2001 		Succeeded by
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