'Buzzing' McGuinness targets TT wins and World Championship glory in 2011
After more than two decades of racing, TT legend John McGuinness admits he still buzzes with anticipation before he competes on the Mountain course.
The 15-times TT winner is aiming to add more victories to his amazing tally – which makes him the second most successful rider in TT history – when he lines up for the 2011 Isle of Man TT fuelled by Monster Energy.
The TT starts on May 30 with the first practice session.
McGuinness is racing for the Honda TT Legends team in the Dainese Superbike, Royal London 360 Superstock and PokerStars Senior. The Morecambe ace will ride for Padgetts Honda in the two Monster Energy Supersport races.
Unusually, McGuinnness will start at number 1, leading the field away. Traditionally he has preferred to be the hunter than the man with the target on his back.
Despite enduring a frustrating TT in 2010, he is confident about his chances this year.
He said:
“With regards to the roads, I still get the buzz of anticipation and nerves jangling just as I did when I first started all those years ago and I certainly want to win more TTs before I finish racing.”
“Last year didn’t quite go to plan on the Island so I’m firmly aiming at rectifying that this time around, whilst I’m really looking forward to going back to the Ulster GP again.”
“If everything goes to plan, we'll be there or thereabouts in all of our races and there's no reason why we can't do the business again!”
This season, his 22nd year of racing, McGuinness faces a new challenge with the Honda TT Legends team. He will, for the first time, contest the World Endurance Championship.
The six-round championship gets under way this weekend with the legendary Bol d’Or 24 Hours at Magny Cours, France. The series also travels to Spain, Japan, Great Britain and Qatar with a calendar comprising 6, 8 and 24-hour races.
McGuinness, in his sixth year as an official Honda rider, is joined in the Honda TT Legends team by Steve Plater and Keith Amor. TT winner Plater has quit road racing, but Amor will be back at the TT this year.
An intensive pre-season testing schedule saw McGuinness clock up the miles on the CBR1000RR Honda Fireblade at Albacete, Spain, and Magny Cours, France, while the team also recently completed a 6-hour shakedown at Darley Moor in the UK in preparation for the Bol d’Or.
His only prior experience of Endurance racing was at the Le Mans 24 Hour race in 2003, but his vast racing experience on both the short circuits and roads should stand him good stead.
He said:
“I’ve raced in a lot of classes over the years, and will continue to do so again this season, but to be in a team capable of winning a world championship can’t be bad at this stage of my career!”
“I was a little surprised when we first started talking about the World Endurance Championship towards the end of last year, but when Honda explained the thinking behind it, it made a lot of sense and I’m really looking forward to a full season of World Championship competition.”
McGuinness added:
“It’s a brand new team so we’ve had a lot of work to do in pre-season, but it’s gone really well and we’ve enjoyed some good testing in both the wet and the dry. The Endurance bike is different to what I’d normally ride – it’s heavier than a short circuit bike and we’re running 16” and 16.5” front and rear wheels, for example - but we’ve got through a lot of stuff and although we’re totally different in stature and how we ride, Steve, Keith and myself have all been working towards the same thing and we’re all really happy with the set up of the bike as we head to Magny Cours.”
“We just want to go racing now and get our Championship challenge up and running.”
In addition to challenging for the World Endurance Championship and victory at the TT, McGuinness will also contest selected rounds of the British National 1000cc Superstock Championship for Padgetts Honda.