Believe it or not: John McGuinness, at 54, is still winning at the TT

John McGuinness never ceases to amaze. At 54, he won the Senior Classic TT on the same 60.7-kilometer Mountain Course that hosts the most daunting and prestigious road race in the world.

The road racing veteran thrashed his rivals aboard the Paton, another legendary brand. And he wasn’t taking it easy, of course: he completed the three race laps at an average of 113 mph, that is over 181 km/h! The victory was particularly significant because it comes exactly thirty years after John McGuinness’ TT debut.

In the most captivating race on the Classic TT bill, other aces of open-road challenges were also on the grid. People like Dean Harrison and Michael Dunlop, who the day before had won both the Classic Formula on the 1996 Suzuki GSX-750 SRAD and later on the Honda 250 GP. On this occasion luck wasn’t on their side, but John McGuinness would have beaten them anyway. The fearsome veteran in fact led the race from the first pass at Glen Helen. At the finish he was 27 seconds ahead of Shaun Anderson, on a Paton, and Mike Browne on the Norton.

For John McGuinness this is his fourth victory in the Senior Classic TT, but of course his legendary career shines above all for what he has achieved at the TT. He debuted back in 1996, sealing his first victory three years later in the Lightweight aboard the Honda 250 GP. Since then he has triumphed 23 times, just one fewer than the mythical Joey Dunlop. His last seal came in 2015 in the Senior TT, the most adrenaline-fueled race of all. Between the roads and walls of the Mountain, he was the first road racer on the planet to break the 130 mph barrier: his personal best is 132.701 mph, which equals 213.562 km/h.

In this year’s edition, riding the factory Honda CBR-RR, he broke the fateful barrier already during qualifying, on the lap from a standing start! Every year, for some time now, people say it could be his last. After thirty years and at his remarkable age for a rider at this level, it might well be time. But go tell that to John McGuinness: he has always amazed us, and he probably still has the fire inside. Not just to win the Classic, but to consistently stay in the top 10 at the TT as well, the real one.

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Photo: IOM TT Races