McGuinness wins 14th TT to equal Mike Hailwood
John McGuinness was victorious in one of the greatest TT races in living memory. He won the Dainese Senior TT to claim his 14th victory to equal the late great Mike Hailwood. He is the first rider to win 4 consecutive Senior titles since Giacomo Agostini.
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 McGuinness wins sensational Senior Race to equal Mike Hailwood It seems fitting that the Dainese Senior race was started by Pauline Hailwood; widow of the legendary Mike; who is regarded by many, including me, as the greatest motorcycle racer of all time. For it was in today’s race that John McGuinness equalled Mike’s total of 14 TT wins. It was also fitting that Mike’s son David should ride in the Ducati parade lap as Mike’s 1978 comeback victory on a Ducati is a part of TT folklore; everyone knows where they were on that day. At the start it seemed likely that this would come down to a shoot out between the Hondas of Guy Martin and John McGuinness and the Relentless Suzukis of Bruce Anstey and Cameron Donald; with Ian Hutchinson the most likely to upset that scenario. What we witnessed was the best Senior Race since the late great Steve Hislop on the ill handling Abus Norton took victory by 4.4s from Carl Fogarty in the race that I regard as the best of all time; better even than the 1967 Senior. The lead in todat’s race changed 8 times and kept the crowds absolutely enthralled. The day was one of clear blue skies, dry roads and virtually no breeze. The honour of being first away belonged to Guy Martin. Second away was local man Conor Cummins; but virtually from the off his bike was leaking oil; some of this sprayed onto John McGuinness when he caught up with Conor and this unsettled John a little as he was concerned that it may be from his bike. It was during the early part of the race that he later said that he made a couple of minor errors. Unsurprisingly Cummins was a very early retirement from the race, a disappointing end to the week; but he is barely 22 and his turn will surely come. At the first commentary position at Glen Helen just 2.86 seconds covered the first six on corrected time. Despite his comments above, it was John McGuinness who led, but by just 0.04s from Ian Hutchinson who has been rapid on this section of the course all week. Bruce Anstey was third 0.64s further down; with Cameron Donald, Guy Martin and Ryan Farquhar completing the top six. At the uphill right hander at Cruickshanks, Guy Martin led on the roads and he was most impressive as hammered between the walls and on towards White Gates. Next was John McGuinness and he was very neat and fast. Anstey was next and we had just 0.08s difference on our very amateur timing in favour of John McGuinness. Cameron Donald was up to third; just 0.9s ahead of Guy Martin and Ian Hutchinson who we could not separate; with Gary Johnson 0.2s ahead of Ryan Farquhar. The action was excellent for the large crowds assembled on either side of the road. Over the mountain it was Bruce Anstey who was the fastest; giving him a lead of 0.46s as he screamed along Glencrutchery Road to make the heart stopping descent of Bray Hill for the second time. Bruce’s lap speed was 128.631mph from a standing start; with John’s at 128.575mph. Cameron was third at 128.517mph with Guy fourth at 128.316mph. Ian Hutchinson was fifth 6.45s down on Guy with Ryan Farquhar sixth on his Superstock specification bike, just 3.32s down on Ian. Such was the pace of the race that the top 23 riders all lapped at over 120mph. On the second lap Anstey very gradually began to eke a lead and his pace was such that the possibility of another 130mph lap was very real as they flashed past us. Our watch had Anstey leading by 3.85s from McGuinness; with Donald third just 0.2 ahead of Guy Martin , Hutchy fifth and Gary Johnson sixth just 0.1 ahead of Ryan Farquhar; what a race it was turning out to be. Unbeknown to us at the time Guy Martin’s machine started to encounter an electrical problem at Glen Helen on this lap; this caused the revs to tail off. Despite this he managed to finish the lap in fourth place. With a lap at 129.445mph; his best TT lap ever Bruce Anstey led by 1.48s as they entered pit lane. Then the dramatic news that Bruce Anstey was off his machine; out of the race and walking disconsolately away; his Superbike jinx had struck again; clutch and chain problems being the culprits this time. Then Guy Martin had problems getting away; this cost him a lot of time; but worse was to come; the machine expired at Quarter Bridge; his rotten luck continuing to spoil a week that offered so much promise. Cameron Donald was third as the riders streamed into the pits; he was just 2.6s down on John McGuinness, who became the leader as they exited pit lane. Ian Hutchinson was fifth behind Guy; but third as he left pit lane; with Ryan Farquhar sixth jus 1s ahead of Gary Johnson on the Robinson Concrete/Uel Duncan Honda. The drama of the pit stops left us with a straight fight to the finish between the master and the new pretender over 150 miles on the most demanding circuit in the world. Thoughts of 92 were in the minds of most spectators as the riders pushed themselves and their machines to the limit. The two were rarely more than three seconds apart over the next two laps; McGuinness the quicker on the run to Glen Helen; Donald quicker on the run to Ramsey. At Ramsey on lap 3 we had the gap at 0.06s in favour of McGuinness, but that is unofficial hand held timing. McGuinness managed to increase this to 2.78s as they crossed the line to begin lap 4; their lap times were just 0.18s different; McGuinness the faster. Behind them the others held station; Hutchinson third, Farquhar fourth, Gary Johnson fifth and Steve Plater sixth. Adrian Archibald held seventh and Michael Dunlop was having another great ride in twelfth place. On lap 4 we still had McGuinness in the lead; by just 0.65s as they started the tortuous mountain climb. With a rapid charge over the mountain to compete the lap at an average speed of 129.231mph Cameron Donald had opened a lead of 3.25s as they entered pit lane for the second time. As lap 5 progressed Donald was able to increase his lead; as he passed our vantage point the lead was up to 5.65s and it seemed that he was on course to complete a historic treble of victories. As they went flat out over the line to begin the final lap of thoroughly memorable race the lead stood at 4.77s, so McGuinness had cut it on the run over the mountain; could the master yet prevail? McGuinness reached Glen Helen and was absolutely flying in his effort to wrest the advantage from Donald. Thirty seconds elapsed and still Donald had not reached the commentary point; then 5 seconds later he arrived, meaning that McGuinness had the lead by 5 seconds; had Donald overshot at Ballacraine, or was there another reason for the loss of time. We waited expectantly for the leaders to pass us; McGuinness came through right on cue and was very rapid; as our watch ticked away it became obvious that the lead had grown markedly; when Donald went past it was up to 24.2s; clearly Donald was having machine problems. Over the mountain McGuinness did not ease his pace and with a final tour of 129.517mph he took victory in what had been a stunning display of speed; skill and bravery from all of the riders involved. At the start of the lap Donald had noticed oil on his left boot and he decided to try to nurse the bike home as he felt that he could still secure second place; he later joked that the Suzuki ran well without oil. He was content with his second place in what had been one of the greatest races in living memory. Ian Hutchinson took third to give him a successful end to a meeting that began with a multitude of problems. Ryan Farquhar rode another great race to take fourth on his Superstock machine, down on power to the Superbikes of others. He finished in the top six in all of his races; what could he have done with the proper kit? Perhaps he will win a “TT” tomorrow at Billown. Steve Plater put up another strong performance to claim fifth place and Gary Johnson took sixth, what a week he has had, a real star. What a race: it everyone breathless. The week seems to have absolutely flown past but it has given plenty to talk about in the coming weeks and months. A large crowd remained at the Grandstand to acclaim the prize winners at the presentation. A huge cheer was given to Michael Dunlop when he collected his silver replica; his best lap of 124.773mph puts him ahead of Joey on the all time list; Joey’s last ever lap was his fastest ever at 123.87mph on the SP1 Honda. I have one gripe: surely something better than handing the prizes out the back of the Grandstand can be arranged; even the previous arrangement in pit lane was better as it allowed most people to have a good view and take photographs; today’s crush was most unseemly. This is the blue riband event; let us have a presentation to mirror that. That aside the TT has been a wonderful event and the part played by the marshals cannot be over stated. They stand out in all weathers and carry out their duties very professionally; a huge thank you is due to this wonderful band of unpaid volunteers without whom there simply would be no TT. Dainese Senior TT 1. John McGuinness 127.186mph 2. Cameron Donald 126.183mph 3. Ian Hutchinson 125.198mph 4. Ryan Farquhar 124.852mph 5. Steve Plater 124.195mph 6. Gary Johnson 123.810mph 7. Ian Lougher 123.493mph 8. Carl Rennie 123.180mph 9. Daniel Stewart 122.905mph 10 Michael Dunlop 122.301mph 11 Mark Parrett 121.717mph 12 Ian Pattinson 121.421mph
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