Express & Star

John McGuinness: The day dreamer who became a TT legend

Sitting on the grass banks as a youngster watching his heroes fly by on the Isle of Man, John McGuinness always knew he would be a TT racer.

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He had no idea how, he just knew it would happen – and after winning 23 TTs, placing him behind only the late, great Joey Dunlop, he went on to establish himself as arguably the greatest road racer of the modern era.

“I wanted to be a mechanic but my dad told me to go and get a trade,” said McGuinness. “When I finished being an apprentice bricklayer I came out of college with a trowel in my hand then we hit a recession so there was no work.

“I started working as a mussel picker but all I ever wanted to be was a professional racer.”

McGuinness, aged 45, from Morecambe, would regularly jump on the ferry from Heysham and travel to the Isle of Man for free, hiding in between the vans, cars and motorbikes.

Having grown up around bikes, as his father was a mechanic, he eventually began circuit racing and won the British 250cc championship in 1999.

But road racing was always in the back of his mind and he eventually took the plunge in 1996, entering the lightweight class – with not a spare penny in his pocket.

“I first rode a bike around the TT course in 1982 in between watching the likes of Dunlop and Ron Haslam.

“I’d watch the practice week and then have to be dragged kicking and screaming back to school when the holidays ended.

“All I wanted to be was a TT racer – I had no idea how I would do it though.

“Paul Bird gave me my first break. I lied that I could raise the £10,000 needed but could only muster £2,000, so I ended up delivering chickens for him, working on the bikes, anything really to ride the TT.

“My first TT was in 1996 – the same year as Dave Jefferies and Bruce Anstey.

“I was sharing a room with a biker called Mick Lofthouse who died during practice so it was bit of a baptism of fire.”

McGuinness’s dream would come true in 1999 when he won his first TT, which led to another dream move – when he became team-mates with his idol, Northern Irishman Joey Dunlop, at Honda.

“Joey could ride any bike and was such a special rider,” he said. “I got his autograph in 1986 and told him I would be on the podium with him one day. He muttered something back then – but then it happened.

“Joey was a hardman and to see him win three TTs in 2000 was something special.

“For him to die in Estonia at a little road race a few weeks later after all those years racing was hard to take.”

After Dunlop’s tragic death, aged 48, and later his friend, Dave Jeffries in 2003, aged 30, McGuinness would go on to become the best of his generation.

Dominating the superbike class, he posted the first ever 130mph average speed lap around the 37.73-mile mountain course during the TT’s 100th anniversary year in 2007 and would go on to win 23 in total.

Such was his success, he now has his favourite corner around the TT circuit named after him, which is now simply known as ‘McGuinness’s’.

However, ask him which of those 23 stands out and it’s his memorable 2015 Senior win.

“Winning that race was probably my best moment, doing the 132.7mph lap – it’s something I’ll take to my grave.

“I was given odds of 18/1 to win and I thought ‘I’m not having that’.

“I used all my 19 years of experience at the time. I felt strong from the start and we’ve always been pretty good in the pits.

“I can’t really remember much about the 2015 Senior Race but the third lap was incredible because I could see the fans waving programmes at me as I’d just broken the lap record.

“The last lap was just about keeping concentration and when I won I’d equalled Mike Hailwood’s record of seven Senior TT wins.

“It was very emotional and it was great to get the job finished and get in the bar.”

Last year’s TT saw McGuinness surprisingly off the pace but he had renewed hope heading into 2017 after Honda unveiled a new Fireblade – and a new team-mate in Guy Martin.

But that hope soon turned despair as McGuinness – renowned for his smooth riding style and years of racing without a major accident – suffered a horror crash racing at the North West 200 in May, which could potentially bring his glorious career to a premature end.

Martin also suffered a high-speed crash at the TT but escaped serious injury and both riders have blamed a fault with the bike for their crashes.

Investigations have taken place but neither rider has been pleased with the outcome – with McGuinness still seething about his treatment.

“I had a crash at Castle Combe in about second or third gear and went down really hard, dislocating my thumb which had to be put back in place,” he said. “That’s where the problems all started really and I was definitely not prepared for all that.

“At the North West, the throttle started sticking just before a turn so I grabbed the clutch but when that failed there was nothing I could do.

“I was heading toward the barrier so I just decided to jump off. The whole world slowed down and I was just thinking ‘I should never have ridden this bike’.

“After 20 years’ experience in racing, I should not have been on it.

“I hit the fence, landed about 10 or 12 feet beyond it, and ended up in a golf course.”

McGuinness is now having to endure painful rehabilitation on his leg, which includes lengthening it by 40-50mm using screws and bolts – about 1mm per day.

“My aim is get back walking again and then I’ll decide if I’m going to carry on,” he said.

“All I’ve ever done is racing and it’s all I’ve ever known.

“When I’m having a craic with people everything’s OK, but it’s when I’m lying in bed alone and the pain kicks in it gets hard. I don’t know if coming back is achievable so I don’t want to say too much.

“I don’t want to see my wife crying again but when the pain goes away I might want to get back on a bike.

“I could even come back and just race the lightweight or electric bikes.

“But I never thought I’d be sat here with 23 TT wins and I’m not bothered about beating Joey’s record.

“One of my biggest regrets is probably not signing for Norton last year because they were offering me a lot of money.

“But the annoying thing is nobody from Honda has come to see me since the accident and there’s no excuse for that.”

McGuinness says, if he does retire, there are lots of ideas floating around in his head, including opening a museum in Morecambe.

“I’ve got 47 bikes at the moment, all the stuff I’ve collected and I think people would enjoy seeing it all,” he said.

“I like the classic bikes and all that stuff so maybe we’d get a good turnout – and I can tell everybody how good I used to be.”