Isle of Man TT star John McGuinness made a solid return to short circuit racing for the first time in ten years as he made his debut in the Ducati TriOptions Cup at Donington Park.

The 23-time Mountain Course winner finished fifth and seventh in the two races at the shorter National track on the Lund Group Ducati.

The Morecambe man, who won the British 250cc champion in 1999, said:

“It’s been a long time since I’ve competed on the UK short circuits but it felt really good to be back and I’ve really enjoyed the weekend.

“We have some iconic circuits in Britain so it feels good to be part of the scene again and I’ve learnt a lot over the course of the three days both in terms of the bike and the competition.

“There’s some good, fast lads in the championship with some impressive results on their respective CV’s and every domestic support series is extremely competitive so to finish with a fifth and a seventh is very pleasing,” added the 48-year-old.

“Every day’s a school day with the bike but I didn’t make any mistakes in either race and got two, solid finishes under my belt. It gives me plenty to build on so we’ll roll on to the next round and see if we can get closer to the podium.”

The championship was initially scheduled to commence in April but was put on hold as a result of the worldwide Covid-19 pandemic.

Round two will take place at Snetterton in Norfolk from September 21-23.