Marking the 30th anniversary of Joey Dunlop’s first Isle of Man TT win with Honda, John McGuinness raced Sunday’s Dainese Superbike TT race in the iconic rider’s racing livery. Joey’s colors (circa 2000, his last TT entry) proved to be good luck for Mr. McPint, as the 19-time-TT-winner set an outright race lap record during the Superbike TT.
Slapped with a one-minute time penalty in the pit lane, McGuinness could only manage a third place podium in the race, but the Honda rider is working hard on catching Joey’s all-time win record of 26 Isle of Man TT wins. Fittingly, Joey’s nephew Michael won the Superbike TT race, setting a race time record in the process as well.
British Superbike fans might recognize the name, but Josh Brookes is making headlines with his Isle of Man TT debut, having set the fastest Mountain Course lap ever for a newcomer. Teammate to Guy Martin on the Tyco Suzuki team, Brookes is showing himself to be a very capable road racer having finished 10th in the 2013 Dainese Superbike TT.
Posting a 127.726 mph lap, Brookes shattered Steve Plater’s record of 125.808 mph from 2007. The new high-water mark isn’t likely to last though, as Brookes will have another shot at it on Superbike equipment later this week during the Senior TT, the blue-ribbon and final race of the 2013 IOMTT.
After the Dainese Superbike TT race was pushed from Saturday’s debut time slot to Sunday, it seems the first solo-classs race was worth the wait as it put on quite the show for Isle of Man TT fans.
In addition to the victory by the popular Michael Dunlop, and a stellar performance by newcomer Josh Brookes, John McGuinness also made waves, first with his pit lane time penalty (McGuinness was levied a one minute penalty by the stewards), but more notably with his record-setting 131.671 mph lap on the sixth lap of the race.
The first solo bike race of the 2013 Isle of Man TT, the Dainese Superbike TT race features 1,000cc superbike fours (1,200cc twins), which complete six laps around the Isle of Man’s Mountain Course. A prelude of things to come during the TT’s blue-ribbon event, the Senior TT, the Superbike TT boasts all the top names on the fastest machinery, and typically is the opening race for the IOMTT.
