THE Isle of Man TT have published on-board footage of one of John McGuinness’s early practice laps from this year’s race.
The footage makes use of several angles, including on the helmet, front-facing, rear-facing, a dash-cam which looks back at McGuinness on the bike, and one angle which showcases the 23-time TT winner’s one-finger braking technique.
McGuinness will make his 100th TT start at this year’s races, but the on-boards show that despite his 50 years McGuinness is absent of little of the speed he showed at his serial-race-winning peak.
Of course, so much of McGuinness’ previous TT success came with Honda, who celebrate their Fireblade’s 30th anniversary this year with the 2022 Fireblade CBR1000RR-R SP. For the TT, though, 2022 marks 115 years since the first race in 1907, and the race is also special this year for other reasons.
2022 will see the first TT since the Covid pandemic began in 2020, and it will also be the first TT which will be broadcast live.
The North West 200 also made its return this year after two years of no racing, and it must be said that it was a great event, with plenty of people turning out throughout the week, even on Thursday in the less-than-ideal weather.
Of course, one of the issues which arose from the North West was that of Dunlop, which has made the decision to withdraw its slick tyre for the TT.
That is not a problem for McGuinness, though, since Honda are with Metzeler for the roads in 2022. The same can be said for McGuinness’ teammate, Glenn Irwin, who has so far been the fastest newcomer, having set a 122.97mph lap on the second day of practice.
At the top of the times has been Peter Hickman, which is of little surprise, ultimately, as he went upwards of 130mph (130.72mph) for the first time in 2022. Hickman was seven seconds faster than Dean Harrison at 129.84mph, while Davey Todd - the fastest Superstock rider with 129.58mph - was the third fastest on a Superbike at 128.024mph.
If you are planning on heading to the Isle of Man TT this year, check out our guide to tell you everything you need to know.