John McGuinness ready to fight at the 2013 Tourist Trophy

from TWOWHEELSBLOG

The 2013 Isle of Man Tourist Trophy is almost upon us - with the traditional ‘Practice Week’ beginning this Saturday, May 25 - and, as usual, many eyes will be on the legendary John McGuinness, the fastest man ever on the mighty Mountain Course, who will try to add more silverware to his already impressive tally of 19 TT wins. In the Superbike and Senior races, the 41 yeard old from Morecombe will race once again under the banner of the fierce Honda TT Legends team, which will also field another two ‘big names’ in Road Racing, Michael Rutter and Michael Dunlop, who already have 3 TT wins each under their belts.

Following a disappointing start to the road racing season with the cancellation of the North West 200 Superbike races, the stellar three-man TT Legends line-up is even more determined to put on a good show for the thousands of TT fans that flock to the event every year. According to the John McGuinnenes himself, the NW200 letdown will just give him further motivation to do well at the imminent race TT:

“We were all gutted not to get out on the Superbikes at the North West, so the TT is all the more important this year. As always, I’ll be a bit nervous heading in to the first practice sessions this weekend but as soon as I get on the bike and head out for the first time it will feel like home. There’s no denying that the young guns are nipping at my heels but I’ll be fighting as hard as any of them. I’ve said it before but when the sun is out there is no better place to be than the Isle of Man TT, so let’s just hope that the weather is good and we can put on a good show for the fans.”

Michael Dunlop - of the mythological Dunlop dynasty - will surely give a hard time to the ‘old’ King of the Mountain, also because he will have to defend the honor of the family: with 26 TT wins, the late and great uncle Joey is the only man to have scored more victories in Manx than McGuinness, but Michael is also quite close to his late father Robert, who won 5 times on the Isle and still is, in turn, the most successful rider in the history of the NW200. At the recent NW200, Michael was able to take a victory in the ‘mutilated’ Supersport Race before the rain came down and forced the promoters to call it a day:

“The North West was a mixed bag for me because I did get a win on the 600, but the weather was horrendous and it was a shame we didn’t get to go out on the big bikes. My machine was going well in practice and I would have been on pole for the race, so I’m looking forward to seeing what we can do at the TT. It’s my favourite road racing circuit and if the weather is good, it’ll be a pretty good show.”

Even the ‘new guy’ of the Honda TT Legends team, 40-year old Michael Rutter, boasts a pretty impressive record at the NW200 - with 13 victories, he is second alongside Joey Dunlop in terms of wins behind the 15 wins brought home by the aforementioned Robert Dunlop - but he’s got some family-related matters at the TT too: his father Toni in fact has won 7 times on the Isle of Man, and of course Michael hopes to close the gap with the parent in the TT ranking:

“After the wash-out of the North West I can’t wait to get back to the rock and have a go on the Superbikes. I know the Louth-based team means business on the roads and I’m looking forward to being back with them on the Isle of Man. My team-mates just happen to be two of my biggest rivals, but I’m sure that will make for some good racing, we just need to keep our fingers crossed for good weather.”

Last but not least, Honda TT Legend’s main man Neil Tuxworth tells us what his expectations are for the upcoming event:

“The North West 200 was hugely disappointing for everyone involved as we didn’t even get to turn a wheel on race day, so we’re looking forward to the TT even more this year. We’ll be running a three-rider line-up in the Superbike and Senior races and it’s one of the strongest line-ups we’ve ever had. McGuinness, Rutter and Dunlop are all proven winners at the TT so we have high hopes in terms of race results this year.”

Road Racing: the main events of 2013

From Twowheelsblog 

Apparently, since the Mayans got it all wrong, next year we will be able to enjoy the magnificient show of the Road Racing once again. The events to mark on your calendar are always the same, and the most important of them all is obviously the Isle of Man TT, arguably the most prestigious motorcycle race in the world. The 2013 Tourist Trophy will take place from the 25th of May till June the 7th: one week of practice and then 9 races on the 37¾ miles (60.7 km) of the legendary ‘Mountain Course’. Hopefully, next year will also see the return of Senior TT after the first historic cancellation due to bad weather in 2012.

With 19 wins already under his belt, His Majesty ‘King of the Mountain’ John McGuinness will be once again the man to beat, and some of his most valuable opponents will be his newly appointed team mates, Michael Rutter e Michael Dunlop, who have just joined the ranks of the Honda TT Legends team. Other ‘eligible candidates’ for success on the Isle are New Zealander Bruce Anstey (9 wins so far), local hero Conor Cummins (who just joined William Dunlop in the Milwaukee Yamaha team), Cameron Donald, Ian Lougher, Adrian Archibald, James Hillier, Gary Johnson and the ‘rebellious’ Guy Martin, a rider with great talent and plenty of fans who has been chasing his first win at the TT for years.

Unfortunately, some of the crowd favourites won’t be part of the show next year: Ian ‘Hutchy’ Hutchinson (who collected an unprecedent ‘5-out-of-5′ at the 2010 TT) will be sidelined for the entire 2013 by yet another surgery to his battered left leg, while Farqhar Ryan announced his retirement after the tragic events of the 2012 Manx GP.

The North West 200 - the biggest outdoor event in Northern Ireland, which attracts over 100,000 visitors every year - will take place in May, from the 12th to the 18th. On the 8.1 miles (14 km) of the famous ‘Triangle’ course running between the towns of Portstewart, Coleraine and Portrush, there will be no less than 8 races divided into 4 categories (Superstock, Superbike, Supersport and Supertwin) and the man to beat will be Alastair Seeley, 8 times winner who got himself 3 more races at the 2012 NW200.

From August 12 to 17 it will be the turn of the Ulster Grand Prix, an event born in 1922 and staged as always in Dundrod, near Belfast. The favorite rider for this event must be Michael Dunlop (2 wins for him in 2012) along with the other winners of the last edition: his brother William, Guy Martin, Ryan Farquhar and Bruce Anstey.

As usual, the 2013 Road Racing season will come to an end at the Macau Grand Prix, in southeastern China, scheduled for November 14 to 17 on the famous Guia road circuit. Michael Rutter, who won the last two editions and is a 8 times winner between the typical black-and-yellow guard-rails of the race, has to be the favorite here, but look out for Scotsman Stuart Easton, winner of three editions and holder of the record lap, now fully recovered after the terrible accident of the 2011 NW200.

Road Racing - Main Events 2013

Scarborough Spring Cup (England): April 21
North West 200 (Northern Ireland): May 12 to 18
Tourist Trophy (Isle of Man): May 25-June 7
Scarborough Road Race Festival (England): June 15 to 16
Skerries 100 (Ireland): 5 to 6 July
Southern 100 International Road Races (Isle of Man): July 8 to 11
Cock ‘O The North Scarborough (England): July 20 to 21
Chimay Grand Prix de Frontieres (Belgium): July 27 to 28
Ulster GP (Northern Ireland): August 12 to 17
Manx GP (Isle of Man): 17 to 30 August
Scarborough Gold Cup (England): September 14 to 15
Macau GP (China): 14 to 17 November

Michael Schumacher, Keith Flint, John McGuinness, Randy Mamola, & Pol Espargaró Villá score the ultimate track day on bikes thanks to Monster Energy

Monster Energy put together retired F1 driver Michael Schumacher, Prodigy’s frontmanKeith Flint (and avid rider and sometimes racer), TT legend John McGuinness, and retired GP rider Randy Mamola, and Moto2 rider Pol Espargaró at the Paul Ricard circuit, filming a promotional video for the energy drink company, that hopefully we’ll see very soon.

This odd quintet lapped the French circuit, with the F1 champion on a Ducati Panigale, Espargarò on his Pons Kalex machine, McGuinness on his Honda, Mamola on a Yamaha Superbike and Flint on a Suzuki.

Schumacher took up bike racing as a hobby and even took part in the KTM Super Duke Trophy in Italy, the 8 hour endurance race at Oschersleben, and also rode in 3 IDM Superbike races before crashing at Cartegana during a test which left him with a neck injury said, “Coming here today I felt so proud to be able to turn my hand at riding a bike with guys I really admire. I can’t begin to explain how much fun it was to ride the track with the likes of John, Randy, Keith and watching Pol Espargaro’s huge talent.”

While 19-time TT winner McGuinness said, “Riding with Michael was so good. What he’s achieved on four wheels makes him the Godfather of motorsport. I wasn’t expecting him to be anything less, but he’s fast! You can see his enthusiasm for motorcycles and it was a massive pleasure to spend the day with him.”

“Today I was truly able to use the word ‘legend’ to describe the company I was keeping; both from four and two wheels. As I pulled out of the pit lane I mentally pinched myself as I followed out Randy Mamola, Michael Schumacher and a true gladiator in John McGuinness. That Espargaro kid is a bit of a handful too isn’t he?” said Flint about his illustrious track mates.

Photo Source | monsterenergy.facebook.com