ISLE OF MAN TT 2022

Glenn Irwin claims fastest newcomer lap, while John McGuinness MBE celebrates 100th TT start

The Honda Racing UK team enjoyed an excellent start to TT race week with fifth and eighth places for John McGuinness MBE and Glenn Irwin, respectively, in the RST Superbike TT Race today. Both riders, riding the CBR1000RR-R Fireblade SP Superbike, were in the thick of the action, inside the top 10, posting impressive 129mph lap times. Finishing in eighth Glenn was the highest placed newcomer, on his last lap setting a new outright newcomers lap record (129.85mph).

The race ran under near-cloudless blue skies and the warmest temperature seen since the beginning of qualifying (16ºC). Getting underway shortly after midday, John was the first rider on the course, riding with the number one plate on his special '100th TT' liveried Fireblade, to celebrate his 100th TT Race start.

The RST Superbike TT Race marked the 100th Isle of Man TT race start for John McGuinness MBE. To celebrate this impressive milestone, Honda Racing UK along with many of John’s sponsors came together to create a unique livery for the race.

John’s CBR1000RR-R Fireblade SP features an all-new and unique colour scheme, that displays a ‘reel’ of photo images, each one taken from his each of his 99 races thus far. These trace all the way back to his first race on the island, the Lightweight TT in 1996 where he placed 15th on his Honda RS250, a race won by John’s TT hero Joey Dunlop. Sporting flashes of gold, the livery also celebrates other aspects of John’s life, including an image on the petrol tank of his medal awarded to him as a Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire by the Queen in 2021.

This year also marks the Honda Fireblade’s 30th anniversary, where at the TT the Fireblade has secured 23 victories, 12 of which have been won by John. Since first competing in the TT in 1959 (with an all-Japanese rider team) Honda has gone on to win 189 TTs to date and is the most successful marque in TT history.

John repeated his excellent form from qualifying, consistently lapping at 128mph to 129mph, climbing from 10th (after lap one) through to fourth place after three laps. John held on to fourth place until the second refuel when rival Ian Hutchinson snuck ahead. John closed the gap to just 1.5-seconds with a lap to go but 'Hutchy' held on to the finish. John and the team were nonetheless very happy with his result, and to have been knocking on a podium finish after a layoff of so many years, on a new machine, is an impressive result.

Glenn was holding 11th place after his first lap, just behind John. Also posting 128mph laps, Glenn also climbed the leaderboard to be placed sixth at mid distance. For a while Glenn was caught in a heated three-way dice (on time) with James Hillier and Jamie Coward. Posting the fastest ever newcomers' lap of 129.85mph on his final lap Glenn finished in an impressive eighth place in his debut TT race. For a newcomer to be dicing with the cream of TT talent, setting the times he did, has been a stunning performance.