TT star McGuinness scores more points in national championship
The Isle of Man TT’s fastest man secured more points in the latest round of the National 1000cc Superstock Championship, to retain his place in the title hunt’s top eight.
John McGuinness, who is aiming to add to his tally of 15 wins at the 2010 Isle of Man TT, was a little disappointed to finish 13th in the third race of the 2010 championship at Oulton Park on Monday. However, he is hoping to find the step forward in pace enjoyed by his rivals and soon be back at the sharp end.
The Padgetts Honda rider endured a tough battle to take points in the Bank Holiday showdown.
The weekend started well when the Morecambe star set the third fastest time in the free practice session. However, in qualifying, despite taking four tenths of a second off his lap time, McGuinness was bumped back to eighth.
In final qualifying, with some rain in the air, McGuinness went quicker again to bring his lap time down to 1m 39.527s. Such is the pace of the class, however, that time was only good enough for an 11th place start.
The National 1000cc Superstock Championship is very competitive and McGuinness was confident he would be able to improve on his grid position during the race.
A strong start immediately saw him move forward, into 10th at the end of the first, hectic lap. Hopes were high McGuinnness could continue moving up the leaderboard, however, with spots of rain again in the air, the next few laps saw a lot of chopping and changing and McGuinness was pushed back to 14th by lap four.
The rain passed and McGuinness regrouped to move back into 12th on lap 13. On the penultimate lap he was overhauled by former champion Lee Jackson and took the chequered flag in 13th place.
That earned him three points, meaning he now lies in eighth place in the championship table.
McGuinness said:
“Once again I got a good start and when I was up to 10th I was right with the leading back, but they suddenly gapped me and I found myself dicing in a group of about eight riders for the lower end of the points.”
“It’s not where I want to be, obviously, and although I’m riding hard, I’m running at the pace I was at last year - I haven’t made the jump forward like the other boys have. The bike’s good enough so I’m going to work even harder between now and the next round to make sure I’m back at the sharp end.”
“I’ve got the North West 200 next and the extra track time there will help me recharge the batteries, so I’ll be looking for some strong results to get myself back to the level where I want to be.”