40 year old and 19-time TT winner John McGuinness will be racing the new Honda CBR500R at the 2013 Isle of Man TT under the Lightweight TT category. McGuiness already holds 2 titles in the Lightweight category taking back to back victories during his stint with the Honda VFR400- but that was almost a decade ago. Off-late the Lightweight class has been ruled by Irish racer Ryan Farquhar on his Kawasaki ER6.
McGuinness will be riding for the Phil Morris’s RLR racing team who have been testing the new CBR500R. Commenting on his new prospect John McGuinness said “It was strange sitting on the sidelines last year while the race was on, particularly as the Senior was cancelled as well. It’s an interesting class and will present different challenges to the other races but I’m looking forward to having a crack. The team undoubtedly has a lot to do in a short space of time to be ready but I’ve got every faith in them.”
Last year it were the Kawasakis that ruled to roost of the Lightweight class securing the top 8 positions, but with McGuinness joining the bandwagon the category should see a considerable shakeup in the standings. Will the new 500 be able to challenge the larger displaced motorcycles and McGuinness cracking Michael Rutter’s fastest lap of 19:35.45?
With 19 titles under his belt and the fastest ever lap of 17:12.30 at an average speed of 210.52 kph on a heart pounding IOM circuit, there’s not an inch of doubt and we wish all the best to the Morecambe man for the new venture!
For people who haven’t heard about the champion rider, here’s a video tribute to the “King of the mountains”.