Isle of Man TT legends leading the way
John McGuinness on a Fireblade at the TT.
THE 2011 Isle of Man TT began in spectacular style for the Honda TT Legends team as John McGuinness led the majority of the six-lap Superbike race to secure the victory and take his tally of TT wins to 16. His teammate Keith Amor put in a heroic performance, riding through the pain of his injured shoulder to bring home the Fireblade in fourth position.
The race began under blue skies with McGuinness and Amor the first two riders off the start line. McGuinness immediately set the pace, leading lap one before dropping into second place at Glen Helen on lap two. Amor looked to be struggling in ninth place, but by the end of lap two he had climbed to eighth.
A slick pit stop from the Honda TT Legends team at the end of lap two saw McGuinness reclaim the lead ahead of Bruce Anstey, while Amor slotted into fifth. When Anstey was forced to retire on lap three, McGuinness entered into a close battle with Guy Martin – always maintaining the lead with an 18-second gap between the two.
Another seamless pit stop took place at the end of lap four and when Martin retired from the race on lap five, McGuinness cruised through his sixth and final lap. He won the race with a 57-second lead over the Honda TT Legends’ Endurance World Championship reserve rider Cameron Donald. Despite suffering with shoulder pain and battling with a gear selection problem, Keith Amor ended the race in fourth – a great result for the injured Scotsman.
McGuinness’s 16th win marks the 56th TT victory for the Louth-based Honda team – the most amount of wins for any one team in TT history. With the top four places occupied by Honda and three of those places occupied by Honda TT Legends riders, it has certainly been a successful opening race for the manufacturer. John McGuinness and Keith Amor will both compete for the Honda TT Legends in the Senior race on Friday 10 June.
Team manager Neil Tuxworth said: “From a team perspective that was absolutely fantastic. There’s been a lot of pressure on the team, we had problems last year and John so much wanted to win that race. I am just so pleased, so happy for the team. The pit stops went smoothly, the team is really working well together and the bike never missed a beat so we’re over the moon.”