By Phil Wain
June 12 2006

John McGuinness shattered the record books in Friday’s six-lap Senior TT, taking his 11th TT victory in total and upping the outright lap record to a sensational 129.451mph. The Morecambe ace broke his record from Saturday on the opening lap and went quicker still to stamp his authority on the race. Although it was tight in the early stages, John and the HM Plant Honda pushed hard, and at one stage his lead was over 30 seconds - but for the final two laps he rode to his signals and eventually took the chequered flag some 25 seconds ahead of runner-up Australian Cameron Donald, with Kiwi Bruce Anstey in third.

Like the rest of race week, the Isle of Man was bathed in glorious sunshine, and the heat was at its highest so it was going to be a gruelling six laps for the competitors. As expected, the opening lap was incredibly close, and at Glen Helen John led by just 0.8 seconds from Ian Hutchinson, with Donald just a further second back. Hutchinson’s challenge ended before they arrived at Ramsey, when he was forced out by electrical problems, so it was Guy Martin who took up the challenge, and he was only three seconds behind at Ramsey. John pressed on over the Mountain but, for once, his lead didn’t increase in the usual manner and, as they flashed over the start and finish line, he was only 3.8 seconds ahead of Martin, with Donald another half second back - the race was certainly on.

The pressure being exerted on John by the two young chargers meant he had lapped at 128.146mph from a standing start, the first lap ever in excess of 128mph, and he had to carry the speed all the way through the second lap if he was to pull away. Martin’s challenge was being hindered by an oil leak, and John overhauled him on the road as they went over the Mountain for a second time. When he came in to refuel for the first time, the crowd gasped when it was announced he’d gone quicker still with a lap of 129.415mph, and he was now making the race his. His lead was up to 12 seconds and, with a lightning pitstop, he gained further time.

Throughout his third and fourth laps he extended his advantage at each commentary point, and by the second pitstop the gap had grown to 25 seconds. With Donald again struggling to get his machine fired up, the gap went over the 30 second mark and, for the final two laps, John rode a perfect race, riding to his signals and controlling his lead accordingly. As a result, the Australian clawed back some of the lead but after 226 miles of racing. John ran out the winner by over 20 seconds to claim a hat-trick for the ,week and move to 11 wins on the all-time list. To put that into perspective, only the legendary Joey Dunlop and Mike Hailwood have won more.

After savouring the victory, a champagne soaked and delighted John said:
“The race was absolutely unbelievable, and it’s such an awesome feeling to have won it. The boys were really on it today, so I pushed from the very start and the bike worked mega all the way through. A lot of thought, work, development and preparation has gone into the Honda FireBlade, and it never missed a beat today. Guy and Cameron were pushing me a lot, but as soon as I saw Guy on the second lap, it gave me the incentive to push on that little bit more, and I was able to use him as a marker. I blitzed the Mountain on that second lap, and with two fantastic pitstops we’d got the job done after 3-4 laps, and I was able to ride to my boards for the last two laps.

“The conditions were brilliant today, although it was very hot and I was puffing and panting a bit, but I pushed hard and concentrated all the way, so to be sitting here with 11 wins is an immense feeling. I’ve got to say a big thank you to all the fans and marshals, and there was another massive crowd out today so I hope they enjoyed the race as much as I did. Special praise needs to go to my team and the three mechanics - Leighton Haigh, Julian Boland and Ian Milward - worked tremendously hard all fortnight, and it’s a credit to them that we were able to pull off the hat trick. It will take a while to sink in properly, but I’m over the moon with today and how the whole week has gone - it’s been a brilliant TT.”

It’s back to the short circuits now for John, and he’ll be at Snetterton next week (17/18 June) for the latest round of the National Superstock Championship, where he’ll be looking to improve upon his current third place overall.