HM Plant Honda rider John McGuinness has torn up the record books on his way to winning the Isle of Man TT Supersport race. McGuinness, who opened his campaign on the island with victory in the Superbike race but could then only manage a disappointing fifth-placed Superstock finish, triumphed in the 600cc class.
He completed his four laps over the 37.73-mile Mountain Course in a race-record time of one hour, 14 minutes and 3.73 seconds. McAdoo Kawasaki's Ian Hutchinson claimed second by finishing 8.59secs behind McGuinness with Bruce Anstey home in third.
McGuinness, celebrating the 10th TT win of his career, said: "We're getting up with the greats now with 10 wins. It feels fantastic to have won because it was such a hard race, I had to concentrate all the time. I was pushing and pushing and pushing and had a few slides on the way but I
knew I had to race right to the line."
The race had been initially scheduled for a 10.45pm start but was delayed by two hours because sea mist restricted visibility across the Mountain Course. But when racing eventually got under way it was McGuinness who was fastest through the Glen Helen timetrap with Hutchinson next quickest, 0.41secs behind.
And at the end of the first lap the Morecambe-based McGuinness was leading by four seconds from Hutchinson after setting a new Supersport lap record of 18:21.04 at an average speed of 123.26mph. Midway through the second lap, McGuinness raced clear of the number-one plated AIM Yamaha R6 of Guy Martin who would drop even further down the rankings after a poor refuelling stop at half distance.
But there were no such tribulations for McGuinness, riding British Supersport rider Eugene Laverty's spare CBR 600cc machine, as he eclipsed his previous lap time by setting yet new benchmark of 18:15.61 at a 123.975mph average.
And coming out of Ramsey hairpin on the third of the race's four laps, the leader's advantage stood at 7.83secs from Hutchinson with Anstey lying third.
When the 33-year-old McGuinness crossed the finish line for his final lap, the gap to Hutchinson, who was fastest in Supersport practice, was 8.57secs. Behind the front pair Anstey was third on his GSX-R 600cc machine.
The Kiwi held position to finish third as he laboured 13.99secs behind Bingley's Hutchinson, while fourth-placed Jason Griffiths was struggling to mount a challenge on the Buildbase Piranha Yamaha R6.
Hutchinson mounted a late charge as he cut McGuinness' advantage by almost two seconds coming out of the Glen Helen timetrap and although further inroads were made by Hutchinson, McGuinness remained 6.55secs clear coming out of Ballaugh Bridge.
With McGuinness faultless through the Ramsey Hairpin and Waterworks sections of the course his comfort zone was boosted to 7.04secs with Hutchinson's progress being hampered by backmarkers.
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