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Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/1542399
llle of ,vrdn JUNIOR TT Mccuinness isn't the smallest of "lads,'' as they would say, so he knew he couldn't leave anything on the table for the (600cc) Junior TI and he made it perfectly clear right from the green flag that he wanted to bounce back from missinS the podium rn the Superstock TT Mccuinness didn't disappoint, sefting a newJuniorTT lap speed record to become the first multiple winner of the week, top- ping youngster Hutchinson on Wednesday, lune 7- But a technical infraction disqualified Hutchinson, promoting Kiwi Bruce Anstey to second and Jason Griffiths to third. Mccuinness jumped out front right from the word "8o", setting a new lap- speed record of 123.514 mph from a standing start on the opening lap. But l'4cAdoo lGwasaki rider Hutchinson didn't let Mccuinness 8et away with it easily, stay- ing within l0 seconds of the Englishman when they came in for their one and only pit stop on lap two of four, Al l''l Yamaha's Guy l'4anin and TAS Suzr.rkis Anstey were also whhin striking distance of McGuinness at the halfway point ofthe race, but a botched pit stop for Martin cost him nearly 40 seconds and dropped him out ofcontention for the win This left McGuinness (who was now leading on the road as well as in the time shees), young gun Hutchinson, and Kiwi Anstey to duke it out for top honors. Anstey's Suzuki was at the top of the speed charts but it wasn't enough for the likable Kiwi, and by the end of the third lap he was nearly 35 seconds behind Hutchinson- lsle of Man Tourist Tnophg "Hutchy," on the other hand, took some time back from McGuinness on the third lap coming within seven seconds of the Honda rider at rhe front going into the final lap. This set the stage: lt was the younSster vs. veteran for the next 37 miles to s€e who could be the 600cc king of the mountain. Hutchy looked strong in the lirst to splits and was hungry for his first TT win, but you can never count Mccuinness out, and he put in a blistering final section to take his second victory of the week by just over eight seconds, with Anstey l8 seconds behind Hutchinson in third. "This is the best weather I have ever seen for the TT and it's Sreat to have the sun shininS and the fans out there watch- ing," Mccuinness said. "\ y'e're out here on a British Supe6port-spec CBR600RR and the thing iust rips. I'm not the smallest lad in the world, but that bike made it easier on me for sure. Hutchy gave me a run. I wa! watchinS the boards and I knew he would be there. Hats off to him." Mccuinness' race time of I hour. 14 minutes and 3 seconds, with an average speed of 122.264 mph, was a new record for the Junior TI "l had such a great run out there," said Hutchinson. "This McAdoo Kawasaki is an absolute rocket. All I did was hang on. lwas realty hoping to win, but to finish on the podium again is 8reat. Now I just need one step higher," But Hutchinson's gory was short-lived, as his McAdoo ZX-5R was found to be a lit- tle too fast, and he was disqualilled when his bike turned up with .25 mms too much carn lift. This promoted Antey to second and Jason Grifliths to third, "lt was a good one. Hutchy was really on it," said Anstey. "l knew lYcGuinness and that Honda was going to be good, but this TAS Suzuki has some pull and I really thouSh we cor]ld get another [win]- I jltst didn't go hard enough right from the get- go." "lt's really a bummer what happened to Hutchx but the rules are the rules and that's the way it goes,'' said lason GrifildE. "lt's great to be on the rostrum and this team has worked so hard that it's nice to give something back them." American Thomas Montano finished 24th on a Honda CBR500RR with an aver- age speed of I 14.584 mph and a fastest lap of I 17. I 17 mph. S€NIOR TT Mccuinness put his linal stanp on the week by takin8 his HM Plant Honda CBR|oooRR Superbike to the Senior TT win to round out the week of racing at the lsle of Man on Friday, lune 9. The Englishman did it in spectacular fashion, breaking the lap record he set earlier in the week by nearly two mph to do it. Young Australian Cameron Donald shocked the TT wodd to come home sec- ond in only his second year at the T[ fol- lowed by Anstey in third. Mccuinness wasted no time in this one, iumping out front by the first split and put- ting in a flyer of an opening lap to lead Guy Martin in the early goin8- But it was Aussie Donald on the move from the I lth starting position into the top three by the end of lap one. Anstey got off to a slow start after brushing one of the many walls halfway around the first lap, then proceeded to use an access road to run off the track, and was outside the top five after the openinS lap. lYccuinness continued to put the ham- mer down and pull away from the field, set- tinS a new lap-record speed of 129,4 mph on the second lap of the event, while Donald nearly matched lYcGuinness' pace, putting in a 128.4 mph lap on the second 8o-arolnd to move into the second spot. By the time the second round of pit stops was complete, Aussie Donald had moved by fuistey and Martin (who suffered from another poor stop in which his gas cap was stuck shut) into the second spot and didn't show any signs of letting up. Anstey was able to regroup from his earty mistake to clock the second-fastest lap of alltime around the island at 129 mph on the final lap to take the final spot on the podium. Had it not been for his early mis- take, Anstey was actually on a quicker overall pace then McGuinness, but it was a too liftle, too late for the Kiwi. Mccuinness' race time of I hour. 47 minutes and 38 seconds was a new race record, giving him his llth career TT win and his third ofthe week. The win also gave Honda its l3fth fi victory tying them with Yamaha atop the ail-time win list. ''lt was a great day out there, I can't say enough about this Honda," said Mccuinness. "These [HM Plant Honda] guys built this bike specifically for the TT and the thing is just on rails. I knew the frecord-breakingl lap was goin8 to be a good one and the mountain section was blisterinS, but I had no idea it was going to be that good-" "l really just can't believe it," said an ecstatic Donald of his first career podium at the TT "This is beyond my wildest dreams for this place. The bike and the team iust did an awesome job and it's going to take a while to sink in. I Suess drinks are on me tonight!" "l had a moment at the beginnin8 and that did trouble for my head," said Anstey of his opening lap. "ljustgot in to one of the tighter corners on the backide way too hot, bounced off a wall, and had to keep going straiSht off the road. lt took me a while to get things back in line, but by the end of the third l+ I was back on it. All things considered, to get on the rostrum after nearly throwing it away at rhe b in- ning is a great result for us." Toye put an exclamation point on an awesome performance for his first time at the TT finishing the Senior TT in 20th with a fastest-lap speed of 120.5 mph on a Superstock-spec Suzuki GSX-R1000- Fellow American lYark l'4iller finished 25th on a SuzukiGSX-R750, while Califomia boy Thomas Montano rode a Honda CBR5ooRRto4fth. Cil 56 JUNE28,2006. CrCtE NEI/y5 June 3-9, 2()06 ROAD RAC€ lon Hukhinion wos lhe breokout young itor of the TT wcck. il d I Ur*v; I / I / [_ I / tr l)t.. ,tt l