Morecambe’s John McGuinness put in a superb ride on Saturday when he finished in third place in the Macau Grand Prix. Riding the Vent Axia/VK Honda Fireblade, the 36-year old chalked up his 8th podium in 11 appearances at the 3.8-mile circuit thus ensuring his up and down 2008 season ended on a high note. Qualifying went well for McGuinness and he ran consistently inside the four six with weather conditions absolutely perfect at the Far East venue. Second in the first 45-minute session, John went quicker in final qualifying held early on Friday morning with a time of 2m27.521s but such was the frenetic pace being set around the tough, challenging road circuit he found himself shuffled back to 4th place overall. Nevertheless, this still put him on the front row and hopes were high going into the 15-lap race. A solid start saw John slot in to 5th place at the end of the first lap as Michael Rutter, Cameron Donald and Stuart Easton led the field round and although he was relegated to 6th by Conor Cummins a lap later, he was still very much in touch with the leading pack. Having overhauled good friend Ian Hutchinson, John moved back up to 5th on the third lap and with some consistent laps, he was able to pull away from the group of riders behind. Secure in fifth, it was very much a lonely race for John but with both Donald and Cummins being forced out with machine problems, he moved up into third on the 8th lap. Although the leading two of Easton and Rutter were out of reach, John was very secure in third and here he finished to end his 2008 season with an excellent result. Speaking afterwards, McGuinness said: “It was a good race and a good ride but, as has been my problem all year, I made a lazy start. You can’t let people get away here and Cameron and Stuart were running a pace you wouldn’t believe so I just settled in to my own race. Conor came by and was riding well so I couldn’t hold on to him and it was fortunate for me that he had problems. The bike never missed a beat and that’s my 8th podium in 11 years of coming here so I’ve got to be happy with that – I just don’t seem to be able to win the damn thing again! It was quite a lonely race for me but I enjoyed it and it’s great to see Stuart win. I was his first teammate and I’ve seen his career progress and he thoroughly deserved it. I’ve got some good bikes for 2009 and know what I need to do so I’ll get stuck in again next year.”