Morecambe’s John McGuinness battled hard to score some more Championship points at round two of the Pirelli National Superstock 1000cc Championship with 14th place around the high-speed Thruxton circuit.
Proceedings at the Hampshire venue were affected by the weather all weekend and after taking fourth in the opening qualifying session, rain on Saturday brought an early end to the final session so John had to settle for a second row starting position.
Conditions had improved considerably for Sunday’s 16-lap race although strong wings created a new hazard for the 40-strong field. A solid start saw John lie in eighth at the end of the opening lap but with damp patches still around the course, conditions were tricky whilst the considerable amount of slipstreaming meant maintaining position was an extremely difficult task. As the race wore on John found himself pushed back to 14th and any hopes of climbing back into the top ten were dashed when the race was stopped early, on the 11th lap. It all meant John was awarded 14th place and two hard earned Championship points.
Speaking later, John said; “The results sheet doesn’t look the greatest and there’s no doubt it’s frustrating to be in 14th this weekend, especially after getting on the rostrum last time out at Brands, but I felt good out there and was racing with some good lads who’ll be up there in the Championship so it shows I’m riding well. We lost a full practice session and I haven’t been here for a couple of years so I was up against it to a certain degree but I feel sharp and I’m getting plenty of miles on the bike so the weekend has been another valuable, worthwhile meeting. It’s off to France now and I’m feeling good so am looking forward to getting back on the Honda TT Legends bike.”
John now turns his attention to the opening round of the Endurance World Championship with the ‘24 Hour Bol d’Or’ taking place at Magny Cours, France this weekend.
Picture by Glynne Lewis
