John McGuinness

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John McGuinness (2013)

John McGuinness (born April 16, 1972 in Morecambe ) is an English motorcycle racer who, with 23 victories at the Isle of Man TT, is also known as "King of the Mountain", "Mr.TT" or, in reference to his place of birth, as "Morecambe Missile “Is titled. In 2014 he is considered the second most successful TT racing driver after Joey Dunlop , who won 26 TT races in 25 years. McGuinness also competes in other road races, such as the North West 200 , but also takes part in the British Superstock Championship on official racetracks .

Motorcycling

At the age of three, John McGuinness gained his first experience with a small Italjet under the guidance of his father. At the age of four he appeared in the English newspaper Daily Mirror under the headline that he emulated Evel Knievel , a famous American motorcycle stuntman of the time, by jumping over toy buses in his Italjet in an outfit similar to this one. John's father brought his son into contact with motorcycles at an early age . The latter competed in motocross races and ran his own repair and sales business for motorized two-wheelers. John McGuinness accompanied his father to racing events at a young age, including the Isle of Man . McGuinness eventually trained to be a bricklayer and competed in his first race at Aintree when he was 18 .

1991 to 2001

In 1991 McGuinness took part in the British Clubman's Series . He won the first race in Mallory Park , as did the entire championship. In 1992 he was awarded a Shell scholarship which supported talented young drivers. From then on, he drove for three years in the British 250cc championship.

In 1994, McGuinness made his road racing debut at the North West 200 . There he participated again a year later before making his debut in the Lightweight class at the Isle of Man TT in 1996 . He drove a Honda RS 250 for Paul Bird's team. McGuinness finished 15th, making him the best newcomer in this class. In 1997, still with the support of Paul Bird, but now equipped with an Aprilia motorcycle , John McGuinness took third place in the 250cc class, ahead of only Ian Lougher and Joey Dunlop . He completed the fastest lap of the race with an average speed of 116.83  mph (188.02  km / h ) on the 37.733- mile (60.725 km) long Snaefell Mountain Course . The second placed Lougher crossed the finish line two seconds ahead of him.

On a 250 cc Honda from Team Vimto under Paul Bird, McGuinness again achieved third place in the lightweight TT in 1998 . In 1999 he was able to finish all races in the top three of the British 250cc championship, won the 250cc race at Daytona International Speedway and won his first win with the 250cc Honda at the Isle of Man TT. He broke Ian Lougher's lap record. From 2000, John McGuinness moved into the larger categories and became a teammate of Joey Dunlop in the Vimto team. He finished third in the Formula One TT behind Michael Rutter and Dunlop and thus achieved his first podium in the Superbike class. Furthermore, he won his second TT race in the singles category on the Chrysalis-AMDM motorcycle of the Morris brothers and won a race in Daytona. The season ended abruptly when McGuinness broke her thigh bone in a racing accident at Oulton Park . One month after the TT, in July 2000, his teammate Joey Dunlop died in an accident in Tallinn . In 2001, John McGuinness led his Honda to victory in the UK at the Castrol CBR 600 Championship and won the Macau Grand Prix .

2002 to 2005

In 2002 John McGuinness competed in the TT and the Supersport World Championship for Honda Britain . At the beginning of the season he broke during a test in Croft the collarbone and suffered later in South Africa , a pneumonia . He could start again at the TT. McGuinness did not achieve any victories, but two podium places, namely second place in the Formula One TT behind David Jefferies and third place in the Senior TT . These results, however, meant the end of the Honda contract at the end of the year. Due to the lack of support from Hondas, John McGuinness was forced to build his own racing motorcycle in the following season, an idea that he had to discard after a few races, as this became too costly without support. For the TT he finally negotiated a Ducati 998 with Paul Bird in his monster mob team, with which he drove to second place behind Adrian Archibald in the senior race . On Ricky Leddy Racing's RLR Honda, he drove to victory in the 400 cc Lightweight TT .

In 2004 John McGuinness celebrated his first Formula One TT victory with a Yamaha R1 . In the race in the 400 cc class of the Isle of Man TT, he again took first place. He also won the Junior TT and broke the lap record in this class. In 2005 McGuinness competed in the British Superbike Championship for Alastair Flanagan's AIM-Yamaha team. He also enjoyed their support at the North West 200 and the Tourist Trophy. Although he was the fastest in training in the Superstock class, he crashed in the race and was eliminated. In the first Supersport race he finished second after Ian Lougher, before retiring in the second race due to technical problems. He also won the Senior TT and the two Superbike races for the first time .

McGuinness after his senior TT win in 2007
McGuinness at the start of the 2007 Senior TT

2006 to 2009

2006 Honda brought John McGuinness back to the team because of his success. The deal with Honda included the British Superstock Championship , the North West 200, the TT and the Ulster Grand Prix . McGuinness won the North West 200 with a 600cc Honda, setting a new lap record. At the TT he dominated the senior and superbike classes and won the only race in the 600 category, the supersport TT . In 2007 he finished first in the superbike race ahead of Guy Martin and Ian Hutchinson . He finished second in both the Supersport and Superstock races, while winning the Senior TT ahead of Martin and Hutchinson. In the course of the 100-year history of the race, he screwed the lap record up to 130.354  mph (209.784  km / h ), making it the first racing driver in the history of the Isle of Man TT to exceed the 130 mph mark. The following year, John McGuinness finished second in the first Supersport race and in the Superstock class. In the Senior TT he was the first to cross the finish line after a particularly tough battle for the lead with Cameron Donald , who was eliminated due to technical problems. McGuinness could not finish the superbike race due to a technical defect. He also finished third on the podium at the Macau Grand Prix.

In 2009, McGuinness won the first of the two Superbike races, was also in the lead during the Superstock race, but fell back to fifth due to technical problems. In the senior TT he retired while in the lead on lap four because his chain broke. Nevertheless, he was able to push the lap record up to 131.578 mph (211.754 km / h) in this race. In the British Superstock 1000 Championship, he was able to win his first race since 2001 on the Croft Circuit. and was third overall at the end of the season.

Superbike TT 2013: McGuinness on a Honda CBR1000RR in Joey Dunlop livery

2010 to 2018

John McGuinness won the North West 200 in May 2010. At the Isle of Man TT, on the other hand, his team-mate Ian Hutchinson could win all five solo races, while McGuinness never finished on the podium. He finished seventh and fifth in the two Supersport races and finished fourth in the Superstock race. In the senior TT , McGuinness formed the leadership team with Conor Cummins , Ian Hutchinson and Guy Martin , but then retired due to technical problems. The year 2010 ended his streak of success of having at least one podium in every TT since 1997.

In the 2011 season, John McGuinness became part of Honda's new World Endurance Squad . Honda also renamed the team at the TT in honor of John McGuinness, the Honda TT Legends. That year McGuinness won the Superbike class and the Senior TT . In the first Supersport race he finished fifth on a Honda, in the second he finished second behind Michael Dunlop .

In 2012 McGuinness was named International Rider of the Year , a prestigious recognition from Road Racing Ireland magazine. In 2012, the senior TT was canceled for the first time in 105 years due to the poor weather. In the Superstock category McGuinness was able to win his first race ever, while he was fourth and fifth in the two Supersport races.

In 2013, John McGuinness won the Senior TT by ten seconds over his teammate Michael Dunlop, while Bruce Anstey from New Zealand came third . It was his 20th win and the 41st podium finish at the Tourist Trophy. The superbike race ended for McGuinness in third place behind Cameron Donald and team-mate Michael Dunlop. He set a new lap record on a Honda CBR1000RR . With an average speed of 131.671  mph (211.904  km / h ), McGuinness lapped the distance in 17: 11.572 minutes. McGuinness achieved another podium in the Superstock class by taking bronze. In the second Supersport race, John McGuinness finished third on the podium behind Bruce Anstey and Michael Dunlop , after finishing fourth in the first Supersport race.

In 2014 he won the TT Zero for the first time . Despite a wrist injury, he set a new lap record in the electric motorcycle class with an average speed of 188.882 km / h. In 2015 he won the TT Zero again. More important, however, was the seventh title in the senior category. In 2016 he was able to take podium places in big races like the TT or the North West 200, but never win any races.

During training for the North West 200 in May 2017, McGuinness had a serious accident and broke four vertebrae and canceled participation in the TT. The cause was probably a faulty brake sensor. In 2018, he prepared for the TT together with the British manufacturer Norton . A few weeks before the race, another operation had to be performed as a result of the injuries. This did not heal enough so that he had to cancel his participation again at short notice.

Private life and trivia

In April 2012, John McGuinness and his wife Becky married in their hometown. They have been a couple since they were 17 and have two children. As a ritual before every TT, he brings his home up to date and his mother has not yet missed her son's TT participation. In 2007 McGuinness received the Freedom of the City of Lancaster award. He was the first athlete to receive this honor from the city.

literature

Web links

Commons : John McGuinness  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ John McGuinness is the King of the Mountain . Retrieved December 10, 2013.
  2. ↑ Stephen Davison: John McGuinness: TT Legend. Blackstaff Pr Ltd, Belfast 2012, p. 5.
  3. ^ John McGuinness - the “Morecambe Missile” ( February 19, 2014 memento in the Internet Archive ). Retrieved December 10, 2013.
  4. ↑ Only the great Joey Dunlop has more victories on the account (line 3) . Retrieved December 10, 2013.
  5. ^ Mac McDiarmid: Joey Dunlop: His Authorized Biography. Haynes Publishing Group, Sparkford 2010, ISBN 978-1844259403 .
  6. ↑ Driver in the North West 200 ( Memento of the original from May 11, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . Retrieved December 10, 2013. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.northwest200.org
  7. ↑ Participants in the British National Superstock 1000 Championship ( Memento of the original from May 29, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . Retrieved December 10, 2013. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.britishsuperbike.com
  8. ↑ Stephen Davison: John McGuinness: TT Legend. Blackstaff Pr Ltd, Belfast 2012, pp. 7-13.
  9. ↑ Stephen Davison: John McGuinness: TT Legend. Blackstaff Pr Ltd, Belfast 2012, p. 13.
  10. ↑ Stephen Davison: John McGuinness: TT Legend. Blackstaff Pr Ltd, Belfast 2012, pp. 14-23.
  11. ↑ Stephen Davison: John McGuinness: TT Legend. Blackstaff Pr Ltd, Belfast 2012, pp. 24-38.
  12. ↑ Stephen Davison: John McGuinness: TT Legend. Blackstaff Pr Ltd, Belfast 2012, pp. 38-61.
  13. ↑ Stephen Davison: John McGuinness: TT Legend. Blackstaff Pr Ltd, Belfast 2012, pp. 70-90.
  14. ^ Podium for John McGuinness at the Macau Grand Prix . Retrieved December 16, 2013.
  15. ↑ Stephen Davison: John McGuinness: TT Legend. Blackstaff Pr Ltd, Belfast 2012, pp. 97-99.
  16. ↑ McGuinness wins the Superstock race in Croft ( Memento from November 26, 2009 in the Internet Archive ). Retrieved December 16, 2013
  17. ↑ McGuinness' career highlights at a glance at content.grandprix.gov.mo
  18. ↑ Stephen Davison: John McGuinness: TT Legend. Blackstaff Pr Ltd, Belfast 2012, p. 106.
  19. ↑ Stephen Davison: John McGuinness: TT Legend. Blackstaff Pr Ltd, Belfast 2012, pp. 124-126.
  20. ↑ John McGuinness named International Rider of the Year on iomtt.com. Retrieved March 24, 2014.
  21. ↑ Stephen Davison: John McGuinness: TT Legend. Blackstaff Pr Ltd, Belfast 2012, pp. 136/138.
  22. ↑ John McGuinness wins his 20th TT race . Retrieved December 24, 2013 and supplement: John McGuinness, Senior TT King . Retrieved December 24, 2013
  23. ↑ McGuinness ends TT week on high . Retrieved December 24, 2013.
  24. ↑ TT 2014: Injured John McGuinness wins TT Zero race (engl.). BBC dated June 4, 2014. Accessed November 4, 2015 .
  25. ↑ John McGuinness on TT waiver: "It hurts". motorsport-total.com, May 18, 2017, accessed June 6, 2017 .
  26. ↑ Isle of Man TT 2017 preview. The Telegraph, June 2, 2017. Retrieved June 6, 2017 .
  27. ↑ Isle of Man TT takes place in 2018 without John McGuinness. motorsport-total.com, May 28, 2018, accessed June 6, 2018 .
  28. ↑ Stephen Davison: John McGuinness: TT Legend. Blackstaff Pr Ltd, Belfast 2012, pp. 121-123.
  29. ↑ Stephen Davison: John McGuinness: TT Legend. Blackstaff Pr Ltd, Belfast 2012, p. 91.
  30. ↑ McGuinness is awarded Freedom of the City . Retrieved January 1, 2014.
personal data
SURNAME McGuinness, John
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Morecambe Missile (nickname); King of the Mountain (nickname); Mr. TT (nickname)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION English motorcycle racer
DATE OF BIRTH April 16, 1972
PLACE OF BIRTH Morecambe , England