McGuinness a safe bet for TT

On May 28, 1907 Charlie Collier took four hours, eight minutes and eight seconds on his Matchless single to take the overall victory in the first ever TT at an average speed of 38.21mph in a race fought out over 10 laps of the 15mile, 1470yard St Johns course.

This year as the TT celebrates 100 glorious years, the lap record is almost certain to hit 130mph – maybe even more if the conditions are favourable on the 37.73-mile Mountain course.

Favourite for 2007 has to be the current lap record holder John McGuinness. He has the virtually the same bike as last year but with a new spec engine, different ECU and some new HRC yokes.

HM Plant Honda team-mate Ian Hutchison has the same HRC kit bike Leon Camier races in BSB, which is a far higher spec version of the FireBlade, but McGuinness prefers a much plusher bike for the roads with a broad spread of power to keep momentum through the high speed changes of direction.

McGuinness has been impressively consistent and fast in British Supersport on the Padgetts Honda and that’s obviously sharpened him up if his sensational form at the North West is any guide.

Hutchinson’s not had the best lead in to the TT. He’s had several crashes in British Supersport on the Bike Animal Honda and has been riding with a niggling shoulder injury for some time, something that held him back at the North West. But he reckons he’s fighting fit now and is desperate to score his first TT win.

Honda lost one of their leading contenders in Cameron Donald when he crashed at the North West and smashed his collarbone. The Uel Duncan Honda rider is the third fastest man in TT history but he’ll have to sit this year out.

Honda still have an impressive line up. Ian Lougher is the most experienced name among the top runners and he’s got his best-ever chance of scoring his first big bike win with the one of the BSB Stobart Hondas.

Lougher’s always preferred to stick with the more basic set-up for the roads (like McGuinness) but one back-to-back test at Castle Combe earlier this year was enough to convince him that the more powerful, better handling BSB bike was the way to go.

Lougher switched ot Dunlops from Pirelli as last year’s Ulster GP and the Stobbie team reckon that’s going to give him the edge at the TT.

If Lougher is old school smooth, Hydrex Honda’s Guy Martin is the other end of the scale: fast fearless and downright aggressive and had a ruck with McGuinness after sending him down the slip road during the North West.

Martin was awesome at last year’s Ulster and is the gagging for his first TT victory.

TAS Suzuki are the team most likely to upset Honda’s dream of cleaning up at this year’s TT – and Bruce Anstey is their ace in the hole.

Anstey crashed in the first superbike race at the North West. But after the massive highside that left him laying on the kerb, battered and bruised for several minutes, he dusted himself down and won the Superstock and two Supersport races on the blindingly quick Suzukis.

No one should ever underestimate Anstey – and neither should they ignore his equally quiet teammate Adrian Archibald.

Archie’s had some lean times in the past couple of seasons and he had a disappointing North West but on his day, he could just pop up and provide one of the big surprises of the TT.

Likewise Michael Rutter on the MSS Discovery Kawasaki. He’s had a torrid time on the new bike in BSB while the team develop pthe bike under very public gaze but he was very competitive at the North West a few weeks back, and if the team can find him just a few bhp more, there’s no reason why smooth riding Rutter can’t be chasing podium places on the Superbike – and he could be even more competitive on the fast and nimble ZX-6R in Supersport.