Honda Racing in International Road Racing News
Honda Racing’s 2015 international road-racing campaign will be a mirror image of 2014, which was a successful year for the Europe-based team.
The two pilots? Twenty-one time Isle of Man TT winner John McGuinnes and Conor Cummins. The “Morecambe Missle” McGuinness and “Ramsey Rocket” Cummins will compete aboard Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade SP machinery in the Superbike and Senior classes of the Isle of Man TT, and the superbike classes of the North West 200.
During the Supersport classes of the TT and North West 200, both riders will also contest on privately-owned Jackson Racing Honda CBR600RR machinery. Jackson Racing will also field a Fireblade SP in the 2015 Endurance World Championship for the two riders.
McGuinness, who has ridden Honda machinery since 1997, had a rough 2014 season due to breaking his scaphoid during a off-road riding training accident. Regardless, the 42-year old secured top-10s in the Superbike and Senior TT races, along with the win in the TT Zero race (Team Mugen).
But he arrives in 2015 fully fit, and will continue his mission of beating the legendary Joey Dunlop’s record of 26 TT wins.
“There’s no denying that 2014 was a tough year for me. It shook my confidence and held me back but I’m ready to put it all behind me and get back to the business of winning races. I’ve said it before but the Honda team is like family to me and that support means everything. I can’t wait to get back on the bike and prove that there’s life in the old dog yet,” McGuinness says.
The 28-year-old Cummins joined the Honda Racing squad in 2015, taking podiums in the North West 200 and Isle of Man TT, including his second-place finish in the demanding six-lap Senior TT around the 37.73-mile Mountain Course.
Cummins says “2014 was a great year for me. I achieved a career-long dream in riding for the official Honda team and I just wanted to make the very most of the opportunity I’d been given. I’m thrilled to be staying with the team for 2015 and now that I have a season of experience on the Fireblade SP under my belt, I’m really looking forward to seeing what we can achieve. Hopefully we can bring home some good results.”
Neil Tuxworth, Team Manager, also spoke about the 2015 campaign: “We’re very happy to retain both John McGuinness and Conor Cummins for our 2015 road racing campaign. It goes without saying that our well-established relationship with John is proven to reap results. Last year was tough for him with his injury but he still got some good results. He’s very determined and we have every confidence that he’ll come back fighting.
“He is still very capable of winning races. Conor really impressed us in 2014, not just with the results, but also with his work ethic and attitude. He’s hungry for success, yet incredibly humble and he really puts in the effort on and off the bike. We’re delighted to have him on board for a second season. I believe we are in a very strong position for the 2015 road racing events.”
