TT 2016: McGuinness: 'Not bad for an old fart!'

John McGuinness has said he was able to learn from Ian Hutchinson as he chased him around the Isle of Man TT course in yesterday’s Senior race.  

Hutchinson caught McGuinness on the road after just one lap of the 37.73 mile mountain course but when he came past, the Morecambe Missile saw it as an invitation to push on, keen not to let him out of his sights.

It worked for the Honda star, who moved up from P9 to P6 while behind the Tyco BMW rider before two sensational pit stops from his team saw him elevated to third to repeat his Superbike TT podium.

“Not bad for an old fart!” McGuinness said after the race. “This is my 20^th TT and I remember going down Bray Hill for the first time on my little 250 Honda. I never thought I’d be back on the podium with my 46^th podium 20 years later. I’ve seen all sorts of things, come across great riders and been in fantastic races. Last year I was sat in the middle but this year it’s Michael and Hutchy and I know how hard it is. I know how hard I rode so for them to take that much out of me.

“The bike was great, I was a little steady at the start. My first pit board was P9 and I thought it was definitely time to hang my boots up, but then Hutchy came past and I managed to get a tow and learn some things off these guys about how to ride even faster round here. We were stunning in the pits, they did a fantastic job. I felt bad as I came out in front of Hutchy both times but I was trying to stay on the podium.”