John McGuinness top, Isle of Man TT practice week

Raceline Photography
By Phil Wain
June 3 2005

Tourist Trophy: John McGuinness ended practice week at the Isle of Man TT road races at the top of the leaderboard in two of his three classes.

With both Wednesday evening and Thursday afternoon’s sessions being cancelled due to inclement weather, the riders finally got back out on the circuit on Friday evening with conditions near perfect all the way round the 37 3/4 mile course.

McGuinness wasn’t the fastest man on the circuit during the session, but his times from earlier in the week ensured he remained at the top of both the Superbike and Superstock times. His lap of 124.34mph was just under 1mph slower than his lap of 125.26mph set on Tuesday evening, which was still quicker than the TAS Suzuki of Adrian Archibald, who put in a lap of 124.84mph to go second fastest overall.

However, John remained quietly confident as his lap was achieved from a standing start, whereas Archibald’s came from a ‘flying’ lap. The evening didn’t go without problems, though, as John pulled in at Ballacraine on his second lap on the R1 Yamaha, as he thought the front wheel may have got a puncture. The tyre was fine but John ‘cruised’ round to complete his second lap just under the 120mph mark. He then took out the Supersport machine for two laps ,although he got a fright through the Glentramman section when the handling went from ‘lock-to-lock’, again reducing his pace somewhat.

So, upon the completion of practice, John is fastest in the Superbike class with a speed of 125.26mph, fastest in the Superstock at 123.13mph, and fifth overall on the Supersport at 119.80mph. Despite only having three timed practice sessions, John reported no major problems with the machines, and is all ready for tomorrow’s opening race, the 6-lap TT Superbike.

The combination of John and the Superbike and Superstock machines have proved to be more than a match for their rivals, although the 600cc Supersport machine appears to be slightly down on power compared to the Hondas, Suzukis and Kawasakis. However, he hasn’t had a clear run on this machine, and when the flag drops the Morecambe rider is sure to be right in the midst of the action.