John McGuinness and Honda Racing UK team started the Isle of Man TT Races fortnight with a strong first outing in the 2022 event.
John finished fourth fastest in both the Superbike and Superstock classes, with the Morecambe Missile putting in two laps apiece on his Superbike and Superstock Fireblade machines – and was immediately into his stride posting the fastest first lap of any of the Superbikes – before rounding out the day with a lap on his Supersport bike.
After three years the fans were back in force over the weekend, enjoying the first night of Qualifying packing the paddock and the course alike, and with such great late-spring weather it all made for a highly enjoyable, atmospheric return to road racing for the island.
The Honda Racing UK team will be back in action this evening, as they look forward to five nights of Qualifying next week, before the first race of the TT fortnight takes place on Saturday 4 June, with the six-lap RST Superbike TT Race.
‘’That definitely got my attention, that first lap down Bray Hill! Wow! I haven’t been on a Superbike for a while, 2016 I think was last time I was on something that was competitive and I felt confident with’’, said John afterwards.
‘’And after four laps I feel like I’ve been run over! This place pulls muscles you forgot you ever had. But look at the weather, feel the atmosphere in the paddock, it’s a cool place to be, and out there on the track I’ve never seen so many people trackside for the first day of practice! It’s cool to see, great to be back.
‘’The new Fireblade is feeling good, it’s faster, sharper, and the Superbike certainly gets your attention, it’s that fast and of course demanding. I’m also learning some new stuff, there’s a lot of nice new tech that’s come with this bike.
‘’So, I’m happy to be inside the top five in both classes today, that’s probably down to experience, and for sure the pace will get faster and faster as the week goes on, but it’s good to be at the sharp end and to have four good safe laps under our belt. I’ll just need to digest what’s gone on today, what the bikes were doing – I’ll need to sleep on it, lie in bed and let it come back to me! But no question, the bikes are good and it’s great to back here at the TT.’’
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