John McGuinness completes fastest ever six-lap Isle of Man TT race at 54 years old

John McGuinness is proving that ‘ageing like fine wine’ applies to racing, after setting his fastest ever six-lap race time at the TT.

Robert Jones

11 Jun 2026

John McGuinness at the TT start line. Credit: Isle of Man TT.

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In his own words, Dean Harrison “hammered everyone” at the 2026 Isle of Man TT. However, McPint’s performance did not go unnoticed either.

The 23-time TT winner set his fastest ever six-lap race time during the Superbike TT, culminating in an impressive fifth-place finish. At 54 years of age, McGuinness managed to outpace the likes of Ian Hutchinson, Jamie Coward, and Nathan Harrison, after setting an average speed of 129.497mph over the six laps.

For reference, that’s not too far away from the average speed set by his Honda Racing UK team-mate Harrison, who won the race thanks to an average speed of 131.681mph.

John McGuinness in action at the TT. Credit: Isle of Man TT.

Speaking after the shortened Senior TT race last week, McGuinness said:

“I’ve got tons of mixed emotions after that race week. Some amazing successes to celebrate, the team have done the business and built some truly incredible bikes for me and Dean, who is the star of the show.
“We were hurtling round here in practice week, having an amazing time, race week came and I was able to produce my fastest ever six lap race. I was strong in that one race I completed with a P5, there are no negatives but it’s hard not to feel frustrated at not being able to run a full-length Senior TT again.”

A fifth-place finish is not the type of result that would usually be remembered at the TT, especially for a former winner. However, with McGuinness achieving these kinds of speeds at this stage in his career, it should come as no surprise to hear that fans greeted him with a hero’s welcome following the Superbike TT.

Dean Harrison aboard his Honda Racing UK machine. Credit: Isle of Man TT.

That being said, Harrison was clearly the star of the show when it came to the ‘big-bike’ classes. McGuinness spoke about his teammates' achievements post-race, and admitted that Harrison likes a “hybrid”-style superbike.

“Dean was strong last year in winning those two superstock races on the Fireblade, he knows what he wants from a motorbike, we worked out what to ask for and Honda delivered. It’s so unique racing the TT and we all want exotica here but Dean is a realist, he knew what he wanted and asked for this hybrid superbike to be built.
“It shows just how good the stock bike is for him to have done what he’s done this week. I’m proud to be part of this jigsaw and super happy to be in this fantastically solid team. All the guys here on the spanners want to be here, we’ve been in each other’s pocket for two weeks and we still get on.
“The support we’ve had has been amazing too, from sponsors, friends of the team and from fans. We’ve all chipped in but it’s important to remember who is holding the handlebars and at the end of the day, Dean hammered everyone. I backed him up on the amazing RS250 ’96 replica bike, had amazing feedback from everybody and the fans clapped at me like I was winning.”