McGuinness secures 17th TT victory

John McGuinness wrapped up his 17th Isle of Man TT victory with a fighting performance in the blue riband Senior TT race, denying Guy Martin a long awaited maiden triumph.

Having won the first Superbike race last weekend - making it a career tally of 16 -, McGuinness was not only looking to make it 17, but to also win the 2011 TT Championship having also enjoyed success in the two Supersport races and the Superstock encounter.

Still, while McGuinness got underway first aboard the Honda TT Legends CBR1000RR, it took him a while to get into his stride as Martin and Bruce Anstey opened up an advantage out front.

Indeed, an inspired Martin was pushing hard aboard the Relentless Suzuki GSX-R1000, opening up a good gap over Anstey by the end of the opening lap, while McGuinness was still adrift, but in touch.

Anstey and McGuinness began to close down Martin slightly on the second lap, the trio coming in for their stops with four laps of the race remaining. A poor stop for Anstey allowed McGuinness ahead into second position, enabling the multiple TT winner to begin hunting down Martin.

As it happens, McGuinness didn't take too long to catch the Suzuki, passing him before the third lap had been completed and duly stretching away. Steadily managing his advantage over the final three revolutions, McGuinness would cross the line with a seven second margin over Martin.

Martin did well to secure second place, fending off a fast charging Anstey for a fourth podium in five races in his first TT with the Relentless Suzuki team. Supersport winner Anstey would end up four seconds behind Martin, the Kiwi ruing another slow change around during the second round of pit-stops.

Indeed, the top three were well clear of the chasing pack, with Cameron Donald finishing in fourth position, over a minute behind McGuinness, while Keith Amor completed the top five.

Respective Suprstock and Supersport race winners Michael Dunlop and Gary Johnson ended their TT campaigns in sixth and seventh, with William Dunlop, James Hillier and Michael Rutter rounding out the top ten.

Meanwhile, TT debutant Simon Andrews put in a fine performance on the Ice Valley BMW to cross the line in 11th.