John McGuinness makes retirement admission following his 30th anniversary TT
For many road racing fans, John McGuinness has been an ever-present fixture in the sport. His latest comments, though, show he might be closing in on the end of his career.
John McGuinness has admitted that he “can’t carry on forever” as a motorcycle road racer, as the Morecombe Missile marks his 30th anniversary at the Isle of Man TT.
McGuinness has always maintained that while he is competitive and fighting at the front of the field, he’ll keep on competing at the world's most famous motorcycle road race. That statement was backed up again last week, when, at the age of 54, he claimed an incredible and emotional 5th-place finish in the first Superbike race.
And while it’s clear that McGuinness is still incredibly competitive at the TT (as his 132mph lap in the 226-mile Superbike race testifies), he’s admitted that he “doesn’t know” when the time will be right to retire.
Speaking during a special TT Podcast Live, the 23-time TT winner said:
“I can’t carry on forever. I don’t know when I should stop, what I should do, but hopefully I’ll know that time when to hang the boots up … at the minute, I’m just going to hit it head-on this year, concentrate on what I’m doing.
“It’s a strange place to be in if you’re six or seventh, you would feel you’d be unhappy with that, but I’m not … I’m really happy just to be part of that with Honda, and them giving me that opportunity to do it. And it’s really cool.
“Scott (Hargreaves), my boss, said to me, ‘If you want to stop, stop, and if you want to stop in the middle of the race, stop’ … I’m going to carry on this year, and then after the Senior, I’ll have a look at myself in the mirror and maybe decide to stop, or maybe carry on.”
McGuinness might have been beaten to the overall TT win record by Michael Dunlop (34 wins) and Joey Dunlop (26 wins), but he will remain one of the TT’s most recognisable and likeable racers of the modern era. Whether he hangs up his leathers after the 2026 TT races or not remains to be seen, but one thing is for sure: while John McGuinness is racing on The Rock, the Isle of Man TT will still feel a little more like the TT many of us grew up with.
Find the latest motorcycle news on Visordown
In This Article
Simon (AKA Toad) has been working within the motorcycle industry for more than twelve years, and a member of the motorcyclist family since birth. Growing up around British-built single and twins, it was inevitable that a life on two wheels was on the cards, from a very early age!
