Mcpint’s Joey moment?

John Mcguinness will ride a factory Fireblade at this year’s TT, aged 50. Can he emulate Joey Dunlop’s 2000 win?

In 2000, Joey Dunlop – the greatest ever TT rider – rode a factory Honda at the TT, aged 48. No-one gave him a chance, and yet he won the F1 race. In 2022, John Mcguinness – the greatest living TT rider – will ride a factory Honda at the TT, aged 50. Could Mcpint pull-off a victory as stupendous as his hero’s? ‘I know Joey was 48 when he won against all the odds,’ says Neil Tuxworth, who ran Honda race teams for 28 years, ‘but he hadn’t had a break like John has. I know John’s been racing on the Ducati [in the Panigale V2 series] so he’s been keeping his hand in a bit but it’s not going to be easy. The older you are, the tougher it is to come back after a break.’

There’s also the pressure factor. If Mcguinness had raced with Bournemouth Kawasaki, who he was signed for last year, there would have been little pressure on him to battle with Peter Hickman, Dean Harrison and Michael Dunlop. But as the lead rider for the official factory Honda squad (his team-mate Glenn Irwin is a TT newcomer), there is surely an expectation to perform?

‘That's not what I’ve heard,’ says TT winner James Hillier. ‘Obviously they don’t want him going round in 15th but they don’t expect him to win. John’s done it enough times to know the score and he’ll ride within himself.’

So could Mcpint do something spectacular? ‘He’ll be fast, no question,’ says ex-tt racer and all round good egg James Whitham. ‘And you’re not continually on the limit of grip at the TT, so you don’t have to be super-fit. But I think it’ll need problems for a couple of the top men for John to get on the podium.’ Ex-honda race boss Neil Tuxworth agrees: ‘Peter Hickman is now the top TT rider, closely followed by Dean Harrison and then Michael Dunlop. The game has moved on. But if it does work out for John it will be absolutely tremendous. Just imagine that…’