John McGuinness (motorcyclist)

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]

  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. ^ John Mcguinness to retire from superbikes? "Possibly. Probably." BikeSocial, 28 August 2017, Retrieved 1 September 2017
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference MCN July 2017 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ John McGuinness: Built for Speed - exclusive first review DriveTribe Retrieved 2 October 2017
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference Classic TT was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ 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