RE: PH meets John McGuinness

RE: PH meets John McGuinness

Thursday 7th June 2012

PH meets John McGuinness

PH meets the road racing legend as he prepares for the finale of this week's Isle of Man TT



With 19 wins (and counting!) in the Isle of Man TT, John McGuinness is second only in wins to his hero Joey Dunlop. We caught up with the 'Morecombe Missile' as he prepares for the flagship Senior TT and aims for win number 20.

What was your first experience on a motorbike?
I was about three years old. Mum and dad had a bike shop and one day they gave me an Italjet rev-and-go bike with stabilisers. Dad just stood behind me and said, "That's go, that's stop. Get going in a straight line." So I tore off on it and headed for a wall. Apparently my Dad was shouting, "Whoa! Stop! Hit the brakes!" I just missed the wall.

I used to ride around the industrial estate in Morecombe where Dad had his shop. Eventually the stabilisers came off and I was away. We've got a few images at home that are quite funny. I was in the Daily Mirror doing a big jump over some little buses dressed as my hero Evel Knievel

19 TT wins makes John one of the greats
19 TT wins makes John one of the greats
Is it true that you once wrote to Jim'll Fix It wanting to ride with Evel?
Yeah, my Dad wrote to Jim'll Fix It one day to see if I could do a jump with him, but the ol' boy never even replied. I was gutted. Jim didn't fix it for me.

You still describe yourself as a 'brickie from Morecambe'. How much time did you actually spend on a building site?
I wanted to be a mechanic but my dad said it was a waste of time and I needed to get into the building trade. I went to college to serve my time and spent three years doing my City & Guilds. There I was with my trowel: 'John the builder.' But it was 1990, Thatcher had just resigned and the country was on its backside. I was expecting to make £500 a week but there were no jobs. I was like, "Cheers dad! Thanks for that! Thanks for the advice!"

So I started collecting mussels on Morecambe beach and that paid for my first race bike.

Does it bother you that you don't always get the recognition you deserve for all your success?
I got invited to Sports Personality of the Year last year in Manchester, but I don't think anybody knew who I was. I just sat there and smiled. It bothers me for about five seconds, and then I get on with what I'm doing.

What's frustrating for me is that wherever I go in the world, people love the TT but it's like someone's holding them back and they can't say they love it. I've been to lots of sports dos and people say, "Oh, I watched that 3D TT movie and it's the greatest documentary I've ever seen." But the TT still never goes as mainstream as it should. It's like somebody's telling them it's wrong. But what's right and what's wrong in this world?

There's been track success but road racing rules
There's been track success but road racing rules
Can you explain why you've enjoyed more success on the roads than in short circuit racing?
Everywhere I go people say, "Why are you so good on the roads but crap on the short circuits?" but I'm not actually that bad you know. I won the British 250cc Championship in 1999, I finished third in the British Superstock Championship in 2009 and I've scored points in MotoGP.

I can do it but I probably just wasn't quite good enough at a world level. I never quite had that chiselled sharp edge that you need. You need to be aggressive and I've never really been one for fairing bashing and diving in front of everyone. I would rather do my own calculated stuff and that probably suits road racing more than short circuit stuff.

It's a double-edged sword, though, because you have to do short circuit racing to be competitive on the roads. It's important to be sharp and bike-fit. I'm enjoying doing the World Endurance Championship with the Honda TT Legends team. We're in the top six in the world, which isn't too bad.

The danger doesn't weigh too heavily
The danger doesn't weigh too heavily
Over 230 riders have lost their lives at the Isle of Man TT and you've witnessed the deaths of some of your best friends. How do you rationalise the danger?
If was racing was safe everyone would do it. You hear Guy Martin saying the danger is a buzz, but I don't do it because it's dangerous. I want to be safe. For me, the buzz comes from the taking part, the challenge and the winning. Near death experiences don't give me a buzz, they just worry me.

I always say to myself I'm only going to push it to my level and when I'm at that level, that's it. I can't go any faster. One day it's going to go up a gear and young kids are going to make me look pretty average, but until that happens I'll keep doing what I do.

If you're a normal chap looking in from the outside, it looks insane. People think we are lunatics. But when you're on the bike, you're just riding round, doing your thing. In the SuperStock race this week the bike wobbled at Crosby and my feet came off the pegs at 180mph, but I put it out of my mind in an instant.

A win in the Superbikes was a great start
A win in the Superbikes was a great start
Have you ever had any moments when you thought you were a goner?
In 2005 I lost the front-end in a SuperStock race at the corner where David Jefferies was killed. The bike shouldn't have reacted in that way. It wasn't skill that it came back, it was just luck. I continued but then I lost the front again so I just starting cruising and said to myself, "Something's not right." My inner voice told me to stop.

I was pretty close to being off to wherever you go.

You turned 40 this year - is John McGuiness thinking about retirement?
I think about it a lot but it's really hard to think about retiring when you get to ride great bikes for top teams. Sometimes I look in the mirror at my baggy eyes and double chin and think, 'what a state,' but when I get on a bike I'm 21 again. The other day I did nine laps [of a 37.7-mile course] without any difficulty.

Normally it's an injury that stops you. You can't do hundreds and hundreds of laps without something going wrong. [Five-time TT winner] Nick Crowe hit a hare in his sidecar a couple of years ago. He lost his arm and his life's changed dramatically. But at the moment we're still firing the results in, so it's difficult to stop. We'll see what tomorrow brings.

He'll keep at it as long as he's competitive
He'll keep at it as long as he's competitive
Mark Webber came to watch you in the Superbike race. How did your friendship develop?
He came to the TT in 2008 to watch the race and he and his dad were just blown away by it. I really like the man; he's really enthusiastic about everything - speedway, motocross... We've kept in touch since then. I went to Valencia with him for the last MotoGP race in 2010 and we flew together in a private jet with Adrian Newey.

There's no edge to him. He's an inspirational guy. I pinged him a text message before the race to say I was nervous and he sent me a really nice, inspirational text that I thought about before the race. It definitely helped me. I'm itching for him to win a World Championship.

I've offered to give him a backie around here one day but I don't think he'd get on, and I wouldn't blame him either.


John rides in Friday's Pokerstars TT Seniors race at 1:30pm; highlights on ITV4 at 10pm following the documentary 'John McGuinness TT Legend' at 9pm


Video: Mark Webber on why he's mates with John McGuinness

 

Author
Discussion

Porkie

Original Poster:

2,378 posts

240 months

Thursday 7th June 2012
quotequote all
Great read!

and I have now seen a new side to Mark Webber. Respect

spareparts

6,777 posts

226 months

Thursday 7th June 2012
quotequote all
Love his down-to-earth and humble style. A great attitude without being all Guy-Martin-weird...

Mr Gear

9,416 posts

189 months

Thursday 7th June 2012
quotequote all
Best motorcycle article on PH yet! Good read, thanks for making the effort to get the interview.

AdamLoewy

176 posts

193 months

Thursday 7th June 2012
quotequote all
The TT is the Group B of the motorcycle world for me.

Every bit of footage blows my mind with the incredible speed they carry EVERYWHERE.

Complete and utter respect.

Also great to see Webber supporting other motorsports, comes across as a very genuine guy.

thewheelman

2,194 posts

172 months

Thursday 7th June 2012
quotequote all
A true living legend.

CliveM

525 posts

184 months

Thursday 7th June 2012
quotequote all
AdamLoewy said:
The TT is the Group B of the motorcycle world for me.

Every bit of footage blows my mind with the incredible speed they carry EVERYWHERE.

Complete and utter respect.

Also great to see Webber supporting other motorsports, comes across as a very genuine guy.
^^exactly the same thoughts^^
Watching the video has made me realise I need to go see the TT again. Like group B, it may not be around in its current state for long.

MB 1

523 posts

184 months

Thursday 7th June 2012
quotequote all
Was that the Pinkham a few seconds in??

xspencex

1,534 posts

235 months

Thursday 7th June 2012
quotequote all
Enjoyed that PH, thanks

Had the pleasure of interviewing John McGuinness a few years ago, he was such a nice guy, so laid back. Took this pic of him at Knockhill. Proper Legend.


Andy XRV

3,837 posts

179 months

Thursday 7th June 2012
quotequote all
Also bumped into him at ExCel, very down to earth and approachable.

StuB

6,695 posts

238 months

Thursday 7th June 2012
quotequote all
Mcdrink is a legend.

mitzy

13,857 posts

196 months

Thursday 7th June 2012
quotequote all
What a lovely interview

Biker's Nemesis

38,536 posts

207 months

Thursday 7th June 2012
quotequote all
Great interview. There's nothing too dislike about McGuiness, he's just a normal guy who rides a bike exceptionally well and there's not a hint of bullst about him.


y2blade

56,029 posts

214 months

Thursday 7th June 2012
quotequote all
I LOVE JOHN McGUINNESS bow

ali4390

2,321 posts

164 months

Thursday 7th June 2012
quotequote all
Really good read thanks PH!

McGuinness is still one of my favourite riders in discipline, don't think there's many people who don't cheer him on in one way or another. True TT legend!

RemaL

24,967 posts

233 months

Thursday 7th June 2012
quotequote all
y2blade said:
I LOVE JOHN McGUINNESS bow
We want your baby's....


cracking read, thanks PH

Lost soul

8,712 posts

181 months

Thursday 7th June 2012
quotequote all
Porkie said:
Great read!

and I have now seen a new side to Mark Webber. Respect
ITV did a great hour long profile on John M including the clip you saw on Mark W He seem such an easy going nice guy , but put him on a bike and the horns grow smile

Lost soul

8,712 posts

181 months

Thursday 7th June 2012
quotequote all
spareparts said:
Love his down-to-earth and humble style. A great attitude without being all Guy-Martin-weird...
Martin just trys too hard to be Speshal

tight5

2,747 posts

158 months

Thursday 7th June 2012
quotequote all
Porkie said:
I have now seen a new side to Mark Webber. Respect
he must like his bikes




on the back of bayliss ( i wouldn't do that )

Lost soul

8,712 posts

181 months

Thursday 7th June 2012
quotequote all
tight5 said:
Porkie said:
I have now seen a new side to Mark Webber. Respect
he must like his bikes




on the back of bayliss ( i wouldn't do that )
In the full ITV interview with Mark W he said that John M had offered to take him pillion for a lap he replied along the lines of "its a long lap if you find out you are not liking it " hehe

y2blade

56,029 posts

214 months

Thursday 7th June 2012
quotequote all
tight5 said:
Porkie said:
I have now seen a new side to Mark Webber. Respect
he must like his bikes




on the back of bayliss ( i wouldn't do that )
I knew that was Bayliss straight away, he has his own unique style and flare cool