John McGuinness is returning to the Isle of Man TT

The ‘Morecambe Missile’ has ridden Honda machines to victory at the Isle of Man TT no fewer than 16 times in his career, a career that has seen almost a century of starts and a total of 23 victories, just three behind the all-time record of Isle of Man legend, Joey Dunlop.

“It’s just something that feels right,” said McGuinness. “It’s the 30^th anniversary of the Fireblade, I’ll be 50 years old and also celebrating my 100^th TT start, so it feels like it’s meant to be. I had a little go on the Fireblade earlier this year and was impressed with it on-track, so looking forward to getting on the roads and seeing how it goes. I can’t wait to get stuck in!”

McGuinness will return to the works Honda outfit alongside BSB star and four-time North West 200 winner Glenn Irwin. Irwin, who was scheduled to make his Isle of Man debut in 2020, knows the CBR1000RR-R Fireblade SP well, having taken victory at Silverstone in this year’s British Superbike championship on his way to eight in the overall standings.

The pair will ride the Fireblades in both the Superstock and Superbike categories of both the North West 200 and the Isle of Man TT, which take place across the 10^th to 14^th of May and the 28^th May to 11^th June respectively.

The return of McGuinness to Honda provides a boost, as if any was needed, to the excitement ahead of the return of the Isle of Man TT in 2022.