McGuinness reflects on 'emotional' tribute after fine fifth place in Superbike race

the Morecambe rider challenged Josh Brookes for fourth place, closing the deficit to the Australian to 1.5s, but ultimately had to settle for fifth after tiring in the closing stages.

However, he still set his fastest lap of the race on the sixth and final lap at 132.248mph, which was close to his personal best around the 37.73-mile Mountain Course.

The Honda Racing rider’s Superbike machine was decked out in a special livery marking the 30th anniversary of his TT debut, which replicated the colours on the Honda RS250R he rode for Paul Bird in in the Lightweight race in his maiden appearance at the event in 1996.

The 54-year-old was pleased with his “honest” result and praised the special reception he received from fans lined around the famous course.

“I felt fairly strong at the end,” McGuinness said. “But I’ll hold my hand up: I was a bit tired on the last lap, tired in my left shoulder, so I had to come back a little bit.

“That’s the point this place can hurt you, so I just said I would enjoy this last lap.

“The icing on the cake would have been the podium, but the three, four in front of me are the best road racers on the planet and they are hard to beat.

“But when they unveiled the bike, I’m not going to lie, it cracked me up a bit; I got a bit emotional, because it just took me back 30 years looking at my 250s that Paul Bird provided for me. It’s just a shame he’s not here today.

“It was quite emotional to start with, but I was determined at the start, to get stuck in. I didn’t want Nathan [Harrison] to catch me,” added McGuinness, who was riding with the number one plate.

“I just put six strong laps together, a couple of pit stops.

“I saw the pit-board and I was nibbling into Josh a bit, and I was a little bit weak up over the Mountain and back down the Mountain.

“But I kept him honest all the way. A top five in a Superbike TT is pretty good.”

Reflecting on the support he receives every year at the TT, McGuinness said he was “humbled” by the spectators who waved him home on the sixth and last lap.

“What was really humbling for me was the fans, all the way around the last lap,” he said.

“It’s so nice. It’s just pretty special because I’ve been in that position loads of times, winning races, and I get that feeling that it’s just from the heart when people see me riding that bike round here today.

“I hope I did it justice. I’ve got the original leathers on, the bike with the green number plates on. I just thought that was really cool.

“I just want to thank everybody for the support all these years, and that last lap was quite emotional. I just needed to get it to the finish. Top fives, it’s where I am. But it’s honest results.

“I’m happy with that. You’re not going to beat some of those guys.”