McGuinness, who enjoyed a record-breaking two weeks at the Isle of Man TT in June, is looking to replicate his good fortune on the 7.28-mile Dundrod road circuit in the two Superbike, two Supersport and one Superstock race – all to be held on the Saturday. The practice sessions take place on Wednesday, ahead of the Dundrod 150 Superbike race on Thursday, and the Ulster GP on Saturday.

Up until this June, the Ulster GP was billed as the fastest road racing circuit in the world, however when McGuinness set new lap record of 129.451-mph at the TT this year the UGP had to relinquish this title. Nevertheless, according to the Chief Timekeeper Richard Agnew a rider only has to lap the Dundrod circuit a mere 0.658 seconds faster than its current record to reclaim the prestigious title, and with the track’s new surface it may well be that the title returns to Ireland this week.

John McGuinness: “I am really looking forward to the Ulster. We have a great team and everyone is really keen to get back on the road. All three of the bikes are excellent and there is absolutely no reason why we can’t be competitive in all the classes. The organisers have resurfaced the track and done an excellent job on the safety side of things; removing most of the telegraph poles and making the run off areas larger. The Ulster is just like a mini TT and we did well over there, so there is no reason why we can’t do the same this week.”

Neil Tuxworth: “After the success of the TT we are keen to get back to racing on the roads. Along with the NW200 the Ulster GP is another important road racing event for us in Ireland and we have high hopes for John. He has exactly the same machinery that he ran at the TT and we hope that we will be able to win the majority of the five races.”

Ulster GP Timetable of Events
Thursday 17th August
Roads Closed from 10am – 6.30pm
Race 1: Dundrod National
Race 2: 125GP and 400SS
Race 3: Dundrod 150 Superbike
Race 4: Dundrod 150 Challenge

Saturday 19 August
Roads Closed 9.30am – 6.30pm
Race 1: Superstock
Race 2: UGP Supersport 600
Race 3: 250 GP
Race 4: UGP Superbike Race
Race 5: Supersport 600
Race 6: UGP Superbike Race