Isle of Man TT 2011: John McGuinness takes Superbike win

Honda TT Legends rider John McGuinness has won the Dainese Superbike TT race to record his 16th win at the Isle of Man TT.

The race got underway right on time under excellent weather. Ryan Farquhar didn’t start the race due to a mechanical problem.

Lap 1
McGuinness leads through Glen Helen for the first time, just one second ahead of Gary Johnson, with Padgett’s Honda rider Bruce Anstey just a fifth of a second behind Johnson in third. Guy Martin is close behind in fourth on the Relentless TAS Suzuki.

Sixth place man at Glen Helen, Michael Dunlop goes through the Sulby speed trap at 190.6mph. John McGuinness still leads at Ramsey, but Anstey has started to get his head down and moves in to second spot, just 1.31 seconds behind McGuinness.

At the end of the lap McGuinness leads Anstey with Gary Johnson in third ahead of Guy Martin.

Lap 2
There’s a new leader at Glen Helen as Anstey continues his charge, opening up a gap of half a second ahead of McGuinness who is now four seconds ahed of Johnson. Guy Martin stays in fourth place by three seconds with Michael Dunlop a further two seconds behind. Cameron Donald is in sixth, nine seconds behind Dunlop.

At Ramsey hairpin Anstey shows no sign of slowing, increasing his lead over McGuinness to 2.4 seconds as they head up on to the mountain.

Going into the first pit stop Anstey still leads by 0.91secs ahead of McGuinness. Martin has moved up to third, 0.7secs ahead of Gary Johnson.

A super-slick pit stop for McGuinness sees him lead Anstey by 12 seconds coming out of the pits with Johnson retaking third spot from Martin. Michael Dunlop has some trouble in the pits, taking much longer than expected.

Lap 3
Into Glen Helen McGuinness holds his lead of 12 seconds over Anstey, with Martin back up to third, three tenths ahead of Johnson. Cameron Donald remains in fifth.

Bruce Anstey retires at Quarry Bends and at Ramsey McGuinness has an 18 second lead over Johnson, who has once again traded places with Martin.

At the end of lap three McGuinness leads by 19 seconds, ahead of Martin who has re-taken second spot. Johnson is only 0.79secs behind.

Lap 4
Rounding Glen Helen for the fourth time and McGuinness remains comfortably in the lead 21 seconds ahead of Johnson, with Martin 0.4secs further back in third. Cameron Donald stays in fourth, ahead of Keith Amor, William Dunlop, James Hillier and Conor Cummins.

McGuinness still leads at Ramsey, with Martin now back in second spot, five seconds ahead of Johnson. Cameron Donald is a further 28 seconds back. Cummins retires at Sign Post corner.

Going into the second and final pit stop McGuinness has a lead of 19.8secs over Martin after recording an average speed of 129.843mph on lap 4. Johnson is a further 10 seconds back, having possibly been slowed down by yellow flags on the mountain. All stays the same as the riders leave the pits.

Lap 5
McGuinness still leads at Glen Helen, 17.99secs ahead of Martin, with Donald now up in to third place, five seconds ahead of Johnson who has received a 30 second penalty for breaking the speed limit in pit lane.

McGuinness continues to control the race, leading at Ramsey ahead of Martin, then Donald. Guy Martin retires at Hillberry.

Down Glencrutchery road for the final time at full throttle, McGuinness now has a lead of just over a minute from Australian Donald, with Johnson back on course for a podium. Amor is in fourth, Dan Stewart fifth, then William Dunlop ahead of brother Michael, Hillier, Archibald and Ian Mackman rounding out the top 10.

Lap 6
Through Glen Helen for the final time and McGuinness remains comfortably in the lead, with over one minute between himself and second place man Donald. Johnson remains in third. Round Ramsey hairpin the positions remain the same.

A superb race from McGuinness sees him blast over the finish line with a 128.870mph average speed. Cameron Donald takes second, with Gary Johnson in third.