McGuinness tastes TT success
Wednesday, 7 June 2006 17:35HM Plant Honda rider John McGuinness claimed victory in the Isle of Man TT Supersport race but described his record-breaking speeds as "insane".
The 33-year-old had opened his 2006 campaign on the island with victory in the Superbike TT but could then only manage a fifth-placed Superstock finish.
However, he triumphed once more in the 600cc class as he completed his four laps over the 37.73-mile Mountain Course in a race-record time of one hour, 14 minutes and 3.73 seconds.
McGuinness also broke the lap record on two occasions during the race, his fastest time being 18:15.61secs at a 123.975mph average.
McGuinness said: "We had changed some engine components and we had also changed the gearing on the bike before we went out, so to a certain extent I had gone out there hoping for the best.
"But I had a great first lap and from then on I knew it was going to be good.
"It was a really tough race though because I had to push so hard, all the way to the end.
"A lot of the young guys' 600s are really competitive and I knew I couldn't afford not to race all the way to the flag.
"So I'm really proud of this win and to set some new records along the way is a nice bonus.
"But a record average speed of 123.9 miles per hour? That's insane, although the conditions here are the best we've had for a long, long time."
McAdoo Kawasaki's Ian Hutchinson was second 8.59secs adrift of McGuinness, with TAS Suzuki rider Bruce Anstey finishing third.
