John McGuinness etched his name even further into the Isle of Man TT record books when he won a sensational Senior race on Friday, taking his 14th TT victory and equalling the tally of the legendary Mike Hailwood, a title that must now also be attributed to the Morecambe ace. Riding the Padgett’s Manx Gas Racing Honda, McGuinness was embroiled in a titanic battle with Bruce Anstey and Cameron Donald and with the lead exchanging hands on no less than 8 occasions, it really was anyone’s race. However, John kept everything at the maximum and with Anstey forced out at the first pit stop with mechanical problems and Donald suffering an oil leak on the final lap, John ran out a clear winner by 51.95seconds. Conditions were again ideal for some high speed racing with dry, sunny weather all around the course and it was John who led at Glen Helen on the opening lap but only by the almost unbelievable margin of 0.04seconds! At the end of the first lap, John found himself down to second but he was only 0.46seconds behind Anstey. The Kiwi rider began to edge away on the second lap but as they came into the pits at the first refuelling stop, he was was out and John found himself back in the lead. However, he was now under threat from Saturday’s Superbike winner Donald and the thousands of race fans were witnessing a titanic duel with the lead exchanging at almost every timing point. At two thirds race distance there was still only half a second between them (after 151 miles of racing!) and the race was going to go down to the wire – or so we thought. Donald looked like he was going to take it but, on the final lap, his bike developed problems and John was able to race clear. With the fastest lap of the race, 129.517mph, he surged ahead and he wheelied over the finish line to become the joint second most successful rider in TT history along with the aforementioned Hailwood. Reflecting on his stunning victory John said: “What a race – absolutely incredible and what a day to do it. It’s thirty years since Mike Hailwood made his comeback in 1978 and to equal his tally of wins with both Mike’s wife and son here today is something special. I had a bit of forearm pump in the early stages and made a couple of mistakes and when Conor Cummins blew up in front of me, I wasn’t sure if it was his bike or mine that was blowing out oil.” “We had two fantastic pit stops but I’ve never been in a race so close. There was nothing between any of us but I’m delighted to have taken the win. Clive and the team, Tom, Ian everyone, they all did a great job and they couldn’t have done anything more for me. I thoroughly enjoyed myself out there today so I hope all the fans out on the course did as well – I’m glad the week has finished off with the British anthem playing as well! It’s back to British Supersport Championship duty for John now with the next round taking place next weekend at Snetterton, June 15th. More, from a press release issued by Steve Plater’s publicist: STEVE PLATER TAKES FIFTH IN SENIOR TT Steve Plater rode well in his final outing of the Isle of Man TT races to round off his week with a fine fifth place in the Dainese Senior TT on Friday. The 36-year-old Woodhall Spa ace has gone well throughout his time on the Island and after riding to 10th place in the opening race of the week, the Dainese Superbike TT, he went on to score eighth in the Superstock TT on Monday before taking his debut win in the Junior TT later that day. Wednesday was his only non-finish of the week when he was unfortunate to retire with a mechanical problem with the AIM Yamaha R6. But he made up for that by riding a blinder of a race in the Senior to secure fifth place at the chequered flag. Throughout the Senior, Plater was running in a comfortable sixth place, his times improving with every lap of the 37.73-mile course. He recorded his fastest lap of the week on lap two of Friday’s race at 127.065mph and was clocked as third fastest rider through the speed trap at Sulby on lap five at 190.1mph. On the last lap Plater began to reel in fellow county rider Gary Johnson on time and as they swept over the Mountain and down to the finish line had done enough to take the fifth place. Plater started 10th but Johnson was 16th, some way behind so the timekeepers had to wait for him to cross the finish line before slotting Plater into fifth position. “It’s a lot better result for me today than last Saturday when I was laid down here in Parc Ferme trying to get my breath back after being so tired at the end of the Superbike race,” said the ever-smiling Lincolnshire rider. “Although the bike was still not running right it’s quite a lot better and I am happy with fifth today. All in all the races have gone well for me, especially on Monday when I won the Junior TT. That was a dream result for me.” Steve returns home on Sunday with another four silver TT replicas and will be in the studio with BBC Radio Lincolnshire from 8.30am 9.30am on Monday to talk about his achievements at this year’s TT races. More, from a press release issued by AIM Yamaha: THIRD AND FIFTH FOR AIM YAMAHA IN SENIOR TT Steve Plater and Ian Hutchinson saved the best until last when they both put in a fine performance in the Senior TT on Friday, Hutchy sealing third place and Steve fifth for AIM Yamaha. Hutchy has not had the best of luck this week but turned the corner on Wednesday when he claimed the runner up spot for the team in Wednesday’s Junior TT. He then went out in practice for the Senior TT, was happy with the bike and looking forward to Friday’s big race confident he could record a strong finish. As the Senior TT got underway Hutchy settled into fifth place until lap three when he moved up the order to third. He held station throughout the remaining four laps to cross the finish line and claim the final podium position of third for the second year in succession. IAN HUTCHINSON I have to be happy with this result, obviously it would have been nice to get the win but a podium is the next best thing and I am pleased to have finished two races this week up there. The team have worked really hard this last month as we had the North West 200 to contend with as well. To keep focussed and stuck in is really difficult and the guys deserve a reward for their hard work. Meanwhile Steve Plater rode well in his final outing of the Isle of Man TT races to round off his week with a fine fifth place in the Senior TT. The 36-year-old Woodhall Spa ace has gone well throughout his time on the Island and after riding to 10th place in the opening race of the week, the Dainese Superbike TT, he went on to take his debut win in the first Junior TT on Monday. Throughout the race, Plater was running in a comfortable sixth place, his times improving with every lap of the 37.73-mile course. He recorded his fastest lap of the week on lap two of Friday’s race at 127.065mph and was clocked as third fastest rider through the speed trap at Sulby on lap five at 190.1mph. On the last lap Plater began to reel in Gary Johnson on time and as they swept over the Mountain and down to the finish line had done enough to take the fifth place. Plater started 10th but Johnson was 16th, some way behind so the timekeepers had to wait for him to cross the finish line before slotting Plater into fifth position. STEVE PLATER It’s a lot better result for me today than last Saturday when I was laid down here in Parc Ferme trying to get my breath back after being so tired at the end of the Superbike race. Although the bike was still not running right it’s quite a lot better and I am happy with fifth today. All in all the races have gone well for me, especially on Monday when I won the Junior TT. That was a dream result for me. With three podium finishes a win, second and third place plus a fifth, its been a productive week for AIM Yamaha and a big thank you is due to all the pit crew who have done a tremendous job keeping the two riders out on track in order to bring these results back to the team. More, from a press release issued by Guy Martin’s publicist: Disappointment for Martin in Senior TT Guy Martin’s 2008 Isle of Man TT Races campaign ended on a disappointing note on Friday when he was forced to retire from the Senior race, the Blue Riband event of the festival. The Kirmington ace was involved in a titanic battle for the lead during the first two laps but as he left the pits after the first refuelling stop, he encountered mechanical problems and his race was over. With ideal racing conditions on the Island, Guy set off at his customary number 1 position on the Hydrex Bike Animal Honda and at the first commentary point, he slotted in to fourth, less than two seconds behind the pace setting Ian Hutchinson. There was little to choose between the top five riders on the first 37 and 3/4 miles and, with a lap of 128.316mph, Guy completed the first lap in fourth place, only 2.61seconds behind new race leader Bruce Anstey. However, unbeknown to the thousands of race fans Guy was already experiencing trouble with the bike and although he somehow consolidated his position on the second lap, he arrived at the pit stop with a sick motorcycle. An electrical fault was robbing the machine of power and the bike refused to start when he left the pits to head out on his third lap. The machine eventually fired into life but just over a mile later, the generator failed completely and he had to pull in at Quarter Bridge. Speaking later, a dejected Guy said: “It’s been a disastrous TT for me and I don’t know what I’ve done to get the luck, or lack of it, that I’ve had – anybody would think I’ve been walking under ladders and breaking mirrors and allsorts! I knew as soon as I left the line that the bike wasn’t right and although I was able to hang in there I wasn’t riding the race I wanted to be doing.When I came into the pits, I said to the boys that she wasn’t running right but we perserved. When she didn’t fire up, I knew it was over.” “I got going but the bike was missing and allsorts so I pulled in and that was that. Everyone in the team has worked their backsides off this fortnight and all the problems have been out of our hands – it’s no-ones fault and there’s nothing more we could have done. I guess it just wasn’t meant to be my year so I’ll get back to work on Monday and start looking forward to next year’s TT.” There’s little break for Guy as he’s back out in the British Superbike Championship this next weekend with the latest round taking place at Snetterton on Sunday June 15th.