McGuinness and Cummins to compete on the roads for Honda Honda Motor Europe today announced its rider line-up for the 2014 Isle of Man TT and North West 200 road racing events. Twenty-time TT winner John McGuinness will be joined by Manxman Conor Cummins to form a two-strong team competing aboard the 2014 Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade in the Superbike and Senior races. Cummins will also ride for the team in the Superstock class. The new road racing squad was revealed as McGuinness and Cummins appeared as team-mates for the first time on the main stage at Motorcycle Live in the UK. The duo promises to pose a serious threat on the roads with the combination of McGuinness’s unrivalled experience and Cummins’s undeniable talent and ambition. The 2013 Isle of Man TT proved that at 41 years old, McGuinness is still the man to beat on the mountain course as he set a new outright lap record during the Superbike race and took an epic Senior victory to rack up his 20th win and 41st podium. The Morecambe Missile also has six NW200 wins under his belt and shows no signs of slowing down. Cummins – who will make his debut for Honda – was fastest newcomer at the TT and the NW200 in 2006. He secured the first of four TT podiums in 2009 and is the third fastest rider in the history of the event, as well as holding the record for the fastest lap from a standing start at 131.5mph. A career-threatening crash during the 2010 TT has done nothing to dampen the 27-year-old’s ambition as he aims to come back fighting with the Honda team. Honda Europe’s revised commitment to road racing represents a new direction following the successful three-year Honda TT Legends project, which has seen the manufacturer compete in both road racing and the Endurance World Championship under the same banner. The 2014 road-racing team will continue to be run from Louth in Lincolnshire and managed by Neil Tuxworth. Honda’s plans for the 2014 EWC season will be announced shortly. Neil Tuxworth We’re pleased to announce our 2014 line-up for the roads and very happy to welcome Conor Cummins to the team. He’s an Isle of Man lad whose father and uncle have raced on the island so the TT in is in his blood. He has a great work ethic and a determination to succeed and I have a lot of admiration for him. He’s back to full fighting fitness following his 2010 crash and as one of the fastest men ever around the mountain course, he definitely has the ability to win races. The relationship between John and Honda is well-established and proven to bring results. He is by far the most successful current TT rider in terms of wins and podiums and he showed at this year’s event that he is still the quickest rider around the Isle of Man. We are of course very happy to have him with us again. With John and Conor on board, I believe we are in a very strong position for the 2014 road racing events. John McGuinness I’m really glad to be staying with Honda to continue the strong relationship we’ve built up in road racing over the years. The team is like family to me and it’s important that I have support that I know I can rely on 100%. It’s great news that Conor will be joining the team. I have a lot of respect for him – he’s young, he’s hungry for it and he has so much passion for racing. It will be a pleasure to be his team-mate. This year proved that there’s life in the old dog yet, so I can’t wait to get back on the Fireblade and see what we can do. Conor Cummins I am thrilled to bits to be with Honda in 2014. In my eyes this is the absolute pinnacle of road racing. Riding for a team like Honda has been something I’ve been aiming for my whole career so for me this is a huge deal. The team has so much experience and I just want to make the most of the opportunity I’ve been given. I’m really looking forward to racing the new Honda Fireblade and hopefully bringing home some good results. More, from a press release issued by John McGuinness’ publicist: McGuinness to continue with Honda in 2014 Morecambe’s John McGuinness will start his 25th season of road racing as a Honda rider once more with the weekend announcement that he has signed for Honda Motor Europe to contest the 2014 Isle of Man TT and North West 200 road racing events. The twenty-time TT winner, and new team-mate Conor Cummins, were presented to the public on the main stage at Saturday’s Motorcycle Live show in Birmingham and will form a strong two-man team competing aboard the 2014 Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade in the Superbike and Senior races. It will be John’s ninth consecutive season of riding for the Japanese giant, a partnership that has seen him enjoy the most successful period of his illustrious career. The 2013 Isle of Man TT proved that at 41 years old, McGuinness is still the man to beat on the Mountain course as he set a new outright lap record of 131.671mph during the Superbike race and took an epic Senior victory to rack up his 20th win and 41st podium, the latter a new record in the 106 year history of the event. With six NW200 wins under his belt too, he’s still very much at the top of his game and more than capable of increasing his tally of wins. As well as the deal with Honda Motor Europe for the Superbike races, John will also continue his relationship with the Padgetts of Batley concern in the Superstock and Supersport classes on the roads. He will also contest selected rounds of the National Superstock 1000cc Championship for the Yorkshire motorcycle dealers whilst also making a return to the Classic TT in August where he’ll again line up on Roger Winfield’s 500cc Paton. To complete a busy year, John will again compete in the TT Zero race for Shinden Mugen Honda. Speaking about his 2014 plans, a delighted John said: “I’m really glad to be staying with Honda to continue the strong relationship we’ve built up in road racing over the years. Having been with the team since 2006, they’re like family to me and it’s important that I have support that I know I can rely on 100%. The support from the management and the mechanics is the best I could possibly wish for. It’s great news that Conor will be joining the team too. I have a lot of respect for him – he’s young, he’s hungry for it and he has so much passion for racing. It will be a pleasure to be his team-mate. This year proved that there’s life in the old dog yet, so I can’t wait to get back on the Fireblade and see what we can do. “I’m also delighted to be working with Clive (Padgett) once more. No one is more passionate about their racing than the Padgetts and they continue to give me the best possible support I could wish for, both on and off the track. We’ve enjoyed a lot of success in the past few years and have a great chance of achieving more of the same in 2014.”