Team Honda's Conor Cummins Scores 2nd Place, John McGuinness 6th in the Senior TT at the Isle of Man TT

 

Isle of Man TT - Isle of Man 06.06.2014                           Cummins storms to second in the Senior TT while McGuinness secures a solid sixth The 2014 Isle of Man TT drew to a close today with an epic Senior race that saw Honda Racing’s Conor Cummins secure second place to take his second podium of the week. Team-mate John McGuinness put in another impressive performance to finish in the top six. Conditions on the 37.7-mile Mountain course were near perfect as the race got underway in warm and sunny weather. Cummins made a great start and was in third place by the first round of pit stops at the end of lap two. A super-smooth job by the Honda Racing crew saw him move up to second by Glen Helen on lap three. The Manxman continued to chip away and aided by another perfect pit stop, he’d closed the gap on race leader Michael Dunlop to just six seconds on the penultimate lap. On the final rotation, Dunlop eked out his lead and Cummins eventually crossed the line 14 seconds behind, taking second place and his sixth TT podium. Guy Martin completed the top three. Meanwhile, McGuinness, who is still recovering from a broken scaphoid, fought his way to sixth place by the halfway point. The 21-time Isle of Man TT winner pushed incredibly hard, recording the fastest speed of the week through Sulby at 193.4mph, to take a well-deserved sixth-place finish. It’s been another successful Isle of Man TT for Honda, with two race victories (in the first Sidecar outing and the second Supersport race) and seven other podium finishes secured on Honda machinery. The manufacturer’s tally of TT wins now stands at 172.   Neil Tuxworth     team manager Conor rode superbly today. He was in the fight all the way through and secured his second podium of the week so we’re really pleased for him, it’s been an excellent TT. I said going into the race that a top six finish would be great for John and that’s exactly what he got, so again, we’re happy with that. Conor Cummins I’m chuffed with that. I knew it was going to be a fast pace so I thought I’d better pull my finger out from the start. I just chipped away and worked really hard for the full six laps. The bike was perfect and the pit stops were absolutely mega – I can’t fault the team. They have worked so hard for the whole two weeks and I want to thank them for that. It was a great race, I really enjoyed it and I’m just so happy to be back riding my bike at the front. Long may it continue! John McGuinness I’m happy. It was always going to be tough and mid-week it was getting harder and harder. That little bit of a rest on Wednesday after sitting out the Supersport race made a big difference. I set off in a positive frame of mind today and got a better start than I did on Saturday. When the boys came past me, I thought ‘I just want to stay with them’ and a couple of good pit stops helped me out. I did 193mph through Sulby, which isn’t hanging about for an old boy, so I’m proud of that. We’ve achieved a lot of things and had a positive couple of weeks considering everything. It was always going to be tough and to get top six in the Senior is not a disgrace. If I was 100% fit I’m sure I could give the others a run for their money. I’ve gone that speed before and there’s no reason why I can’t match their pace again. It’s just a shame we’ve got to wait 51 weeks until the next one!   Copyright-free images © 2014 Honda Racing