Morecambe’s John McGuinness won a record-breaking Superbike TT race today, coming home over 18 seconds clear of HM Plant Honda team-mate Steve Plater. McGuinness also set a new outright lap record of 130.442mph on his way to claiming his 15th TT victory, the second highest total in the history of the races. With dry, sunny conditions all around the course, McGuinness was pushed hard in the early stages by Conor Cummins on the McAdoo Racing Kawasaki and his advantage was only 5 seconds at the end of the first lap but he psuhed hard on his second lap and a new outright lap record of 130.442mph saw his lead up to 11 seconds. However, team-mate Steve Plater, who became the second man to officially lap at over 130mph with a speed of 130.122mph, cut the deficit to less than 8 seconds half way round the 3rd lap. John responded though and later admitted that he pushed really hard on the fifth lap to pull away from his fellow Honda rider. This he duly did and with another 130mph lap on his sixth and final lap, 130.259mph, he ran home 18.11 seconds clear. Speaking afterwards, a delighted John said: “Conditions were a bit dusty to begin with and there wasn’t much grip out there to begin with but I had a good go from the start and was able to make a bit of a break. I saw +4, +8 and then +11 but I was strong in some parts and weak in others so had to keep pushing. I had a real good go on the fifth lap and got stuck in, especially on the bottom part of the circuit, and that allowed me to make the break properly.” “I was feeling a bit of pressure what with it being Honda’s 50th anniversary of road racing so I was glad to repay them back and with a Honda 1-2-3, it’s been a perfect day. I’m proud to have won my 15th TT and to have increased my outright lap record so thanks to everyone for their support, I hope all the fans out there enjoyed it today.” The races come in quick succession now with John out in both the Supersport (4 laps) and Superstock (4 laps) on Tuesday, the former getting underway at 12.15pm. More, from a press release issued by Steve Plater’s publicist: STEVE PLATER SECURES A FINE SECOND PLACE AT TT Steve Plater rode to a fine second place in the six-lap Superbike race at the Isle of Man TT festival, finishing just 18 seconds away from his teammate John McGuinness thus making it a one-two for HM Plant Honda in the opening race of the festival. Steve had been hanging around over the weekend as the race, which should have got underway on Saturday was postponed because of bad weather. He said: “It’s been a long wait since the end of Friday practice really. I did go for a ride around the course late last night to check out a few things with the corners and now I just want to get on with it and get going in the race. The rain will have cleaned up all the rubber up so we won’t have the grip we had last week but it’s the same for everyone so it’s not a problem. Not that it’s going to be slippery but just not quite so much grip. It will be nice to get my first race under my belt and out of the way.” Steve began the race from seventh place-the riders set off at 10 second intervals-and by the time he reached the first check point at Glen Helen he was already up into fifth position and at the end of the first 37.73-mile lap he was up to fourth. On his flying lap lap two – Steve scorched around the course and set his fastest ever lap with a speed of 130.122mh and moved up to third place before pulling into the pits for his first re-fuelling stop. His pit crew got him back out there very quickly while McGuinness was held up and as they set off for lap three, Plater had a slim five second lead on the run to Glen Helen. But McGuinness upped his pace and regained the lead which he held throughout the remainder of the six laps. Plater was not far behind and at one stage got within seven seconds of his teammate. The commentators were amazed by his riding skills and commented on his smooth negotiation of the Ramsey Hairpin each time around. Lap three saw Plater move into second place to pull out a substantial gap on fellow Lincolnshire rider Guy Martin and the three continued in this formation to the chequered flag at the end of six gruelling laps. “I didn’t feel I was pushing too hard,” said Steve after the race. “To be honest I just wanted to safeguard my second place and try to get HM Plant Honda the one-two. It was a bit windy in places and catching me out at times and also not so much grip this morning. But the track is going to get better as long as the rain stays away. 1m 30.122s lap yeah that will do for now” he quipped. At the press conference Steve said: “I pretty much had a speed in my head that I wanted to set and it was really just to improve my lap times from last year. I am happy with 130mph but as the week goes on the speeds are going to get faster if it stays dry. I was happy with the way I rode. I was a little bit slow on the first lap but I still can’t get my head around getting up in the morning and getting out of the motor home and going like a lunatic up the main roads!!” Plater is in action again tomorrow when the four lap Supersport race is scheduled to start at 12.15pm. Following a brief rest Plater will be back in the saddle, this time on the Padgett’s Honda Superstock bike which he will take round for four laps at 6.30pm. More, from a press release issued by Birchall Racing: BIRCHALL BROTHERS DENIED SIXTH PLACE IN TT OPENER Ben and Tom Birchall from Mansfield were denied a sixth place finish to their first TT sidecar race when the outfit suffered a mechanical failure on the very last lap while they were holding a solid sixth place. The practice week had gone well for the Mitchells of Mansfield/Dave Holden Racing duo and saw them post their quickest lap in the final session on Friday. The race was scheduled for Saturday but heavy rain forced officials to cancel all racing on the day and re-arranged the Superbike TT and the Sidecar A event for Monday, the sidecars scheduled for a 2pm start… The Birchall brothers were optimistic of a strong result but were understandably a little apprehensive as they lined up for the start which was delayed a further 15 minutes to 2.15pm. Commenting just prior to the start Ben said: “I normally watch the racing on a video at home so it is a bit nerve wracking to be actually here and starting the race. But we are here in the flash and really looking forward to getting underway. We have had a good week so far and looking forward to a good ride today and whatever result we get is fine for our first time.” Tom added: “I am a bit nervous now, but am looking forward to it and just want to get going.” As they were sent down Bray Hill on their first lap the brothers took their time to get settled into a race pace and let the tyres warm up before stepping on the gas. They had been moved up the order to eighth from 16th because of their excellent practice results but by the time they got to the first check point at Glen Helen they had dropped back to 14th. As they began to gain in confidence they began to edge their way back up and ended the first lap in 11th place posting a respectable lap time of 20m 49.80s 108.68mph from a standing start. Lap two saw a number of front runners fall by the wayside and the Birchall Brothers gained a couple of places from their fellow competitors’ downfall. But they also gained in speed and passed Roy Hanks/Dave Wells on time at Ballaugh before moving further ahead and into sixth position at Ramsey. As they crossed the line to start their final lap they had just about equalled their Friday qualifying time with a lap time of 20m 27.94s 110.615mph and were running in a safe sixth place, well ahead on time of the outfit in seventh position. But it was game over as the Birchalls joined the list of retirements, stopping at Hawthorne on the run to Glen Helen on the final lap with a mechanical failure. * At the time of going to press the brothers had not returned to the paddock so the team cannot be certain of the fault but as soon as they are able to get back when the roads open after some solo practice laps I will let you know. The disappointed brothers have 24 hours to get the LCR Honda 600cc outfit up and running in time for a one lap practice on Tuesday ahead of Wednesday’s second and final assault of the TT course. More, from a press release issued by Tim Reeves’ publicist: Reeves fourth in opening Sidecar TT Tim Reeves and Patrick Farrance opened their account at the 2009 Isle of Man TT Races with a strong fourth lap in Monday’s 3-lap Sidecar race. The Kent driver had been hoping to stand on the podium, at least, but with his engine down on power, he was unable to push as hard as he would have liked and just missed out on a rostrum by 3 seconds – after 113 miles of racing! However, he did have the consolation of posting his personal best lap of the Mountain Course at 112.896mph. After a number of small technical problems during practice week, the final session on Friday finally saw everything come together and Tim was able to lap close to 112mph to put him in a strong frame of mind for the race, which was put back from Saturday to Monday after inclement weather hit the Island. Starting at number 3, Tim found himself down in sixth place at Glen Helen on the opening lap, a position he maintained throughout the lap, his first lap speed being 111.882mph. With race leader Nick Crowe going out at Greeba on the second lap and third placed John Holden falling by the wayside just a few miles later, Tim was elevated to fourth place and was embroiled in a terrific battle, on corrected time, with Simon Neary. Going in to the final lap, Tim was only 2.21 seconds adrift of his rival and although he lapped the final 37 and 3/4 miles faster than ever before at 112.896mph, Neary also posted a personal best lap and Tim eventually had to settle for fourth after three hard laps, just 3.02seconds behind. Speaking later, it was a disappointed Tim that said: “Finishing in the top six at the TT is no mean feat but, to be honest, I’m really disappointed to have finished fourth. I was really hoping for more today but for some reason the bike was about 8-10mph down on the straights and I was losing so much time, it was very much a damage limitation exercise today. We put the new engine in for Friday night’s practice and it felt great so I was really confident coming in to the race and was very hopeful of having a fun ride and getting a top result. I’m at a bit of a loss to explain why it wasn’t performing as well today and it just didn’t have any ‘go’ but at least we got a finish and also managed to post a personal best lap. I feel there’s a lot more to come from me though so we’ll just have to dig deep for Wednesday and see what we can do then.” The second 3-lap Sure Sidecar race takes place on Wednesday and is due to get underway at 1.15pm. More, from a press release issued by Uel Duncan Racing: Johnson takes strong fifth in Superbike TT Broughton’s Gary Johnson took a strong fifth place in today’s 6-lap Superbike TT race, also posting his best ever lap of the Mountain Course at 128.342mph. After struggling throughout practice week with stability issues, the Robinson Concrete Honda rider made some major changes to the set-up of the machine on the eve of the race and they paid dividends from the off. Starting the race at number 1, Gary made a solid start to the 226-mile race and with an opening lap of 128.342mph, he slotted into an excellent fifth place, less than 3 seconds down on fourth-placed Steve Plater. Another 128mph+ lap on his second lap saw Gary maintain his fifth place but on the third lap he moved up to fourth and at two-thirds race distance he was looking comfortable in the position, 24 seconds down on third placed Guy Martin but 14 seconds clear of Ian Hutchinson who was occupying fifth. However, Hutchinson was quickening his pace as the race wore on and enjoying an on-the-roads battle with Guy Martin whereas Gary was circulating on his own – indeed, once he’d been overhauled by John McGuinness on the first lap, he spent almost the entire race with just himself for company! Despite putting in two more laps in excess of 128mph, Gary was unable to resist the challenge of Hutchinson and had to settle for fifth at the chequered flag. Nevertheless, fifth in the opening race of the week was an excellent result and maintained his record of finishing in the top six of every TT race he’s finished for the Uel Duncan Racing team. Speaking later, Gary said; “We went in to the race a bit blind with a new offset on the front yokes and the rear of the bike slightly higher so it was a bit daunting setting off down Bray Hill on the 1st lap but they were definitely the right changes and I was able to run at a pace I felt more comfortable with. The bike wasn’t such a beast to handle and when John (McGuinness) came by up on the Mountain I was able to stay with him until the end of the lap so that showed we’d gone the right way with the changes. We got boxed in at the pit stop so it was all a bit hectic and I got held up by a few backmarkers on the final lap otherwise I think a 129mph could have been achieved. I was running strongly in fourth so it was slightly disappointing to lose it right at the end of the race but I had a fast, enjoyable ride and with 5 Hondas in the top 5, we’ve had a good day.” Gary now has a busy day ahead of him with Tuesday seeing both the Supersport (4 laps) and Superstock (4 laps) races taking place. More, from a press release issued by Keith Amor’s publicist: Amor forced to retire from Superbike TT The 2009 Isle of Man TT Races got off to a disappointing start for Falkirk’s Keith Amor when he was forced to retire from Monday’s Superbike race. The Wilson Craig Honda rider was lying in a strong 8th place when he was forced to pull in at Ballacraine on the third lap with a misfiring motor. After a strong practice week, Keith was hoping to build on his performances around the Mountain Course and a fine opening lap of 126.555mph, a personal best, saw him lie in 8th place. Having overhauled Dan Stewart, who had started ten seconds in front of him, Keith was looking to utilise the clear road in front of him and climb further up the leaderboard but on the second lap, the engine started to misfire and he had to ease off as he approached the pitstop. The pitstop wasn’t without drama as he overshot the ‘stop-box’ incurring a ten seconds penalty but he was still in 8th place. However, as he left the pits, it was clear the bike still wasn’t running correctly and with the engine continuing to misfire, he pulled in at Ballacraine, his race over. Talking later, a disappointed Keith said: “I don’t quite know what the problem was at the moment but it was either the fuel pump or a sensor that caused the bike to start missing but at the beginning of the second lap the bike just started to burble along. I thought I was running out of fuel so eased off towards the end of the lap but I still managed to overshoot the stop box by about 50 yards! I got going again but it started coughing again just a couple of miles later so I parked up at Ballacraine. It’s a disappointing start to race week but I’ve got four more chances left so I’ll be keeping everything crossed that our bad luck is out of the way.” Keith is out next on Tuesday with the 4-lap Supersport race starting at 12.15pm and the 4-lap Superstock getting underway later in the day at 6.30pm.