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| TT Website Interviews - John McGuinness
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Photo: Photocycles
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John McGuinness has been billed as the most versatile rider in
the world. Success at the TT and North West 200, Daytona, 600cc and 250cc
British Championships, World Championship 500's and his ability to perform on
all sizes of machinery back that statement up.
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We caught up with
the Morecambe rider and asked him about the coming season.
John, your 2000 Season was wrecked by
a hip injury sustained in the British Championships, however you still managed
to win at the North West 200 and TT before the accident. How would you rate the
season compared to past seasons?
Everything was going really well. I won at Daytona, then I
won three of the first six British Championship rounds I did and I won the Ken
Redfearn Trophy at Scarborough and then the North West 250 race and the TT was
successful enough.
I was also thirteenth at the British Grand Prix in the
500 race before I went and damaged the hip. So it wasn't a bad year really but
obviously it would have been better had I not have picked up the injury.
At last years TT, I thought your third place
in the F1 was one of the rides of the week considering you had only ridden the
bike once before. How much pleasure did you take from that result.
It was great. The position I was in with Joey having all the
pressure on him with the Aaron Slight engine and me just having James
Toseland's bike with the kit engine was great.
Everyone wrote us off
after the North West when we were really struggling. But we were 'sand bagging'
a little bit really because we had a little bit in reserve which was the
Pirelli tyres. When the Pirelli's went in the bikes were completely
transformed. We went from doing 116mph laps to 120mph, so that was our trump
card really.
But I enjoyed the whole fortnight. There was no pressure
on me from the team and I just went out and rode the bike. Jefferies went out
on lap four which probably got me on to the rostrum but you have got to get to
the flag.
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Photo: Photocycles
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The performance it self was
slightly overshadowed by Joey Dunlop's amazing victory. As his team mate for
the TT were you expecting him to go so well on the SP1 after the trouble
encountered in practice?
Yeah. We knew. As a team, like with Paul Bird and the rest of
them, we all knew there was another big bike win in him. The way he had been
training and he was as fit as ever last year and he knew that if he had a
factory engine he could do the business, which is what he did.
On the
morning of the race he had his 'race face' on and with the conditions and that
it came as no surprise to me.
What your
relationship like with Joey and what was it like being the team mate of such a
legend?
It was weird really. I always looked up to him as a youngster
and my hero is Joey Dunlop! It isn't Kevin Schwantz, it isn't Wayne Rainey or
any of them; it's Joey Dunlop. The first time I went to see him in the Isle of
Man in '82 I thought that he was the man straight away. I went to see him in
his garage and told him that I would be standing on the rostrum with him one
day and eighteen years later, I was.
The relationships were good but he
would never say much. I don't know if he was just winding people up or that was
what he did. It was amazing, like we were in de-briefing sessions with Neil
Tuxworth and the Honda team at the TT and all the Japanese were there and the
Showa technicians and they were all asking him for feedback and he didn't
really have anything to say. It was unbelievable.
At the North West 200
I asked him how he did it because my bike was all over the place, because we
had big problems at the North West and it was frightening me to death, and he
just said 'just grit your teeth', but I had to find a way to make it better. I
wasn't prepared to just grit my teeth.
It was nice to work with him but
he was very private and did his own thing. He was in his own little private
garage separate to us, spannering away on his 125 and 250's and the Superbike
was controlled by the Japanese, but he was always hovering round seeing what
was going on.
He then went on to win the
Lightweight race where you held on to second until you broke down. You looked
very disappointed on the video footage when you stopped at The Quarterbridge,
did you think you had a chance of catching him?
Well what had happened was on the first lap I was trying
fairly hard and coming down to the Creg I had a big slide from the rear which
was strange. So I looked down to see if I could see anything and there was
water pouring out. When we pulled into the pits I was only six seconds down, so
I feel if the bike was right I could have pushed him. It would have been a
grandstand finish.
He wouldn't have wanted me to beat him, but I wanted
to beat him and I had my 'race-face' on and he had his 'race-face' on and we
were miles ahead of anyone else.
It would be dead simple for me to say
I could have beaten him, but I do reckon it could have been a real tight race,
one of the closest of the week. The funny thing is, that my bike broke a
cylinder head in the race, and we actually lent a set of cylinder heads to Joey
in practice week. My bike broke down and his went on to win the race. But it
was his day in the end, like last year it was my day.
It narked me a
little bit in the interview when he said something like 'I was taking it easy'
but it would have been a different story if my bike hadn't broken down I tell
you.
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Photo: Photocycles
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You'll have plenty of chances in
the future though.
Yeah, and he rode great like didn't he?
Yeah.
However, the next race day you did
claimed victory, you're second, in the Singles Race. How satisfying was that
win?
Brilliant. It was an effortless sort of a race. I just
concentrated on the start and getting away and tried to catch Griffiths and
Barton and these guys. But by Ballaugh on the first lap I had caught Steve
Linsdell, and he's no mug on one of them Singles, so I though I must be going
alright and then I got my signal which said plus twelve or something. Then I
got to see Jason on the Mountain, so I knew that if I could just keep him in
sight I would be OK.
The only moment was at the pit stop when I forgot
to switch the bastard back on. We had been practicing all week because I was
really struggling to start it in practice. I knew I could ride the bike, but I
thought that if I messed up the start or in the pits, I'd be in trouble.
However on the day before the race, I got it off to a fine art and was
confident, but in the pits in the race, I forgot to turn the kill switch back
off and it wouldn't go (laughs).
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Photo: Photocycles
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So for this season you are
moving from 250cc British Championship competition to the 600cc Supersport
class. What are your views on this prospect?
A I always had a bit of a mental block with 600s. I always
thought they were horrible, smelly road bikes with no interest in anything else
other than my 250. But with what happened with Jim Moodie at the TT, I ended up
being offered a ride at Snetterton on a test day and I went under the lap
record.
Then I was offered the bike on a one-race basis for Snetterton
and I went out in qualifying and qualified on the front row. But on the same
day I crashed the 250 and damaged my hand and couldn't ride the 600.
However they offered me the bike again at Silverstone and I finished
seventh in the race, which I was reasonably happy with. So I must have done
enough to get the offer for this year, and in my mind now I know that I can do
it. The new bikes are good and I'm looking forward to it.
And outside of the British Championship, where else can we
expect to see you riding in 2001?
Well I'll be at the North West, all fourteen rounds of the
British Championship and I've got the option to ride at Scarborough. I like it
there and I like the organisers and the team get to have a laugh and a drink
you know. I'll also be doing a World Supersport round all being well.
Do you have your machinery organised for the 2001
TT yet?
Fireblades for the Formula 1 and the Senior, Birdy's 250, the
600 Castrol machine for the Junior, the Chrysalis AMDM machine for the singles
race and there is an option to ride a Production bike, but I'm not over
interested in riding one.
Who do you think will be
your main rivals in the Superbike races at this years TT?
David Jefferies.
Is he
definitely coming?
Yeah he will be. I spoke to him on Saturday and he's putting
a deal together for the Isle of Man.
With V&M
Racing?
I think so. But anyway, you've got Jim Moodie as well,
Archibald is going to be there or there abouts and Lougher too. He's no mug Ian
like. There are others too. Jason Griffiths goes well, Richard Britton, Ryan
Farqhuar even. I'll tell you someone who goes well there; Alan Bennalick, but I
think he smashed himself up.
You have said that
you will be riding a Honda Fireblade at the TT this year. After the claims by
other riders that they were not competitive against the R1 Yamahas, how do you
think the machines will compare this year?
I think it's going to be competitive and we'll give the guys
a run. I don't want to be riding round there for fourth place or something.
They will give me the right package and I don't see David Jefferies as a better
rider than me so I want to be challenging for the win.
The TT as we know has been in for quite a bit of stick of late.
What are your views on the future of the event?
Well I'm glad they have got the date thing sorted out. I
think they have done the best thing and there is an extra £100,000 in the
pot. £20,000 per win is what it should be. I mean the prize money has
been stagnant for some years now and I think the 250 race money has gone down.
But I think it's definitely going to survive. Believe this or not, I
was reading a clip yesterday in a pub near where Steve Tonkin lives. Now he won
1981 something or other race and the clip said 'The TT will die in five years'
(laughs). So it shows you what a load of bollocks that was.
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Photo: Photocycles
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Looking into the future, what is
your ultimate ambition, and how long can we expect to see you racing at the TT?
As long as I'm enjoying it, which I do at the moment. I have
no intentions of stopping but if you get a factory Superbike ride or something
you have to go and do it.
Well it's been great to
talk to you and best of luck for the year.
Alright Chief.
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