Press Release:Morecambe's John McGuinness ensured he had another successful day's racing at the International North West 200 road races on Saturday when he finished third in the opening Superbike race for yet another podium finish. The HM Plant Honda rider also took a close fourth in the Supersport race and finished sixth on the Padgetts Honda in the 250cc race.
Practice saw both dry and wet conditions but John fared better than most and with a good set-up on all of his machines, he was able to post some strong times on Tuesday, the only dry session of the week. Second fastest on the Superbike, at 120.994mph, he also placed fourth on the 250 and seventh on the Supersport and was looking good heading into Saturday.
Strong winds and frequent rain showers would play havoc with the day but John got his day off to a steady start in the re-started 250cc race. Second before the race got stopped, John didn't have such a flying opening lap in the re-start but he still rode strongly to bring the little Honda home in a solid sixth place.
On to the first Superbike race and a great first lap saw John take the lead and he led the pack round at the completion of the first 8.9 miles. He was relegated to third on the second lap by teammate Steve Plater and Suzuki's Bruce Anstey but it was anyone's race until the red flag came out at the end of the third lap. Results were taken at the end of the second lap and John was awarded third for his 16th NW200 podium.
The first Supersport race would prove to be John's final outing of the day as poor weather saw the final two races cancelled but he continued with the good form that he has shown throughout 2009 so far when he finished in fourth, just three seconds off the win and only 0.5s adrift of another rostrum.
Talking about his day, John said: "It's been a strange old day and the weather really has played havoc with everything. The wind was gusting all the time whilst the showers we kept getting meant one minute you were riding on dry tarmac, the next it was soaking wet so it really made racing difficult. I made a great start in the first part of the 250cc race but in the second, I got mugged a bit at York Corner and couldn't seem to make any headway. It was great to get out on the little bike though and I was happy with sixth."
"In the first Superbike race, I was really happy with my riding and felt strong at the front but Steve and Bruce just managed to break the tow a little bit so I lost a little bit of ground. Third was good though for my first race on the big bike this season and I couldn't have been happier with the performance of the bike. It was the same with the Supersport and it was flying along the straights so it bodes well for the TT. I was hopeful of overtaking Michael Dunlop but he was extremely late on the brakes at Juniper so I had to settle for fourth."
"It was a shame the final two races got cancelled but there's not a lot we can do about the weather and conditions really were tricky - safety has to come first in those situations. Like I say, I was really happy with how I rode so roll on the TT!"
Prior to the TT, John is back on British Superstock Championship duty with Round 4 taking place at Donington Park on Monday May 25.
Picture by Alan Armstrong Photography
