By Senior TT Race Report
The biggest race of them all at this years Isle of Man TT the senior TT race began in near enough perfect conditions around the TT course. At the first timing point at Glen Helen it was Gary Johnson who took a early lead on the JRC racing Honda Fireblade by half a second over William Dunlop who held second place but by only 0.1 of a second over his brother Michael in second, Michael Rutter held fourth place just in front of John Mcguinness who held fifth place.
By Ramsey on lap 1 Michael Dunlop had taken over the lead at the front of the race by a second over John Mcguinness who was now into second place in front of Gary Johnson who was only one second back on Mcguinness in third place. Guy Martin was now fourth in front of Michael Rutter who held fifth place in front of William Dunlop who completed the top six.
As lap 1 came to a close Michael Dunlop lead by 1.2 seconds over John Mcguinness in second place, Gary Johnson held third place ahead of Guy Martin who was fourth, Michael Rutter was fifth and William Dunlop held sixth place. James Hillier, Bruce Anstey, Conor Cummins and Dean Harrison completed the top 10 at the end of lap 1.
Lap 2 beckoned and Dunlop was still in front at Glen Helen but by only half a second over John Mcguinness, Guy Martin was now into third place ahead of Gary Johnson, Bruce Anstey moved into fifth place ahead of Michael Rutter and William Dunlop whilst James Hillier held seventh place. When John Mcguinness made it to Ballaugh Bridge it was confirmed that John had taken the lead of the race but not by much over Michael Dunlop, there was less than a second between them.
At Cronk ny Mona John Mcguinness still lead but now by an increased advantage of over 2 seconds, Michael Dunlop still occupied second place whilst Guy Martin and Bruce Anstey where getting quicker and quicker as lap 2 entered its final phase. As John Mcguinness entered the pit lane at the end of lap 2 the lead at the front for John was now over 3 seconds.
Michael Dunlop remained in second place, Guy Martin was third five seconds back on Michael Dunlop in second place. Bruce Anstey held fourth place, James Hillier was now fifth in front of Michael Rutter whilst William Dunlop was the leading of the Milwaukee Yamaha riders occupying seventh place in front of his team mate Conor Cummins in eighth place.
As the riders left the pit lane John Mcguinness had now a increased lead over Michael Dunlop, the lead was now over 6 seconds, Guy Martin was tied third with Bruce Anstey after a fantastic pit-stop by the HM Plant Honda by Padgetts motorcycles team.
So onto lap 3 and Mcguinness out front was on a mission to win his 20th TT race, Dunlop was still in second place but now 7 seconds behind Mcguinness, Martin still held third place but was under pressure from Anstey in fourth, Hillier getting faster as the race went on was on a charge and was fast closing in on Martin and Anstey in third and fourth places.
Positions remained unchanged as lap 3 went on although the gap at the front was increasingly, the lead John Mcguinness had over Michael Dunlop in second place was now over 8 seconds. Bruce Anstey moved into third place ahead of Guy Martin whilst James Hillier wasn’t to far behind in fifth place on the Quattro Plant Kawasaki superbike.
When Mcguinness crossed the line at the end of lap 3 the lead was still over 8 seconds, Dunlop still held second place in front of Anstey and Hillier who was performing superbly following on from his lightweight TT win earlier in the day. Guy Martin held fifth place, Michael Rutter was in sixth place whilst William Dunlop, Conor Cummins, Dean Harrison and Cameron Donald completed the top 10. There was some high profile retirements during this years senior TT race most notably that of Gary Johnson who had to retire at the pit-stops on lap 2.
Back to the race and on lap 4 the riders entered the pits for the second pit-stop of the race. John Mcguinness had a brilliant pit-stop which gave John a lead of over 11 seconds over Michael Dunlop, Bruce Anstey maintained third place but not by much over James Hillier in fourth, Guy Martin held onto fifth place and Michael Rutter continued his good form on the Honda TT legends racing superbike in occupying sixth place.
So lap 5 beckoned and there was not much change in the positions at the front of the race apart from James Hillier now moving into third place ahead of Bruce Anstey but there was nothing in it as the battle for the final podium hotted up. Conor Cummins was confirmed as a retirement on the Milwaukee Yamaha superbike which meant Dean Harrison was now into eighth place on the RC Express racing Kawasaki by MSS Performance superbike.
As lap 5 hit the mid distance point Mcguinness had a lead now of over 12 seconds over Dunlop whilst Hillier still held third place and was impressing everyone with his ability and speed. Anstey was still in fourth place but now 2 seconds back on Hillier in third place. Martin still held fifth place in front of Michael Rutter, William Dunlop, Dean Harrison, Dan Stewart and David Johnson who completed the top 10 as the riders went over the mountain on lap 5 of the senior TT race.
John Mcguinness at the end of lap 5 had a 12 second lead over Michael Dunlop whilst around only a second could separate James Hillier and Bruce Anstey as they battled it out for third place. One of the standout rides of the race was coming from David Johnson who was in 10th place on the PR racing ZX10 Kawasaki, David competing in his third TT races this year had already set a new personal best lap time having lapped at over 126 mph.
Whilst Mcguinness maintained a comfortable lead out front, the race for third place was on and Anstey was now reeling Hillier in for third place, both riders on lap 6 where the set to record fast lap times on the final lap of the race. Out front Mcguinness was doing all he had to do to acquire what would be a popular 20th TT victory.
As John Mcguinness crossed the line at the end of lap 6 it brought John his 20th Isle of Man TT victory. Michael Dunlop finished in second place to make it a Honda TT legends racing 1-2, whilst Bruce Anstey lapped at 131.5 mph to set the fastest lap of the race and finish in third place just ahead of James Hillier, who lapped at a lap speed of 131.3 making James now one of the ten fastest riders ever at the Isle of Man TT.
Guy Martin, Michael Rutter, William Dunlop, Dean Harrison, Dan Stewart and David Johnson completed the top 10, there was a standout ride from Lee Johnston who finished in a fantastic 11th place on the East Coast racing Honda Fireblade whilst the leading newcomer in the race was Horst Saiger who finished in 23rd place. Overall a fabulous senior TT race to round off a memorable week of racing at this years Isle of Man TT which has seen the emergence of up and coming talents, new TT winners, young riders make their mark and John Mcguinness prove he is still the man to beat on a superbike at the Isle of Man TT.
