Isle of Man TT – 2015 Senior TT Results
Upon entering the 2015 Isle of Man TT, John McGuinness had 21 TT victories. This was most of any rider currently competing at the iconic road race held on public roads, and five shy of the record held by the late Joey Dunlop.
The 43-year-old “Morecambe Missile” was clearly on a mission to oust Dunlop from the TT record throne, but the 2015 IOM TT didn’t start off so well. McGuinness – slated to compete in six of seven solo TTs (all except the Lightweight TT) at the 37.73-mile Mountain Course – opened race week with a fourth in the RST Superbike race. He followed that with seventh in the Supersport 1 TT, eighth in the both the Superstock and Supersport 2 TTs.
But McGuinness didn’t succumb to the TT blues. He followed his un-McGuinness like results Wednesday with a dominating performance in the SES TT Zero, earning his 22nd TT. Piloting the Team Mugen eBike named “Shinden Yon,” McGuinness shattered his previous TT Zero record by nearly two seconds.
But McGuinness wasn’t done just yet; the Team HRC Honda rider carried this momentum Friday into the most revered race of the Isle of Man TT – the PokerStars Senior TT.
The final race of this year’s TT, McGuinness put in another dominating performance, earning the win by 14.2 seconds ahead of Quattro Plant Kawasaki’s James Hillier. Taking the final podium was the man who earned three TT wins this year – PBM Kawasaki’s Ian Hutchinson.
Besides taking his 23rd TT victory, McGuinness reclaimed the outright TT record, which Bruce Anstey stole during last year’s Senior TT. On the second of four laps during the shortened restarted race (due to a red flag), McGuinness posted an average speed of 132.701mph – the new outright record on the Mountain Course.
2015 Senior TT Recap
The 2015 Senior TT was shortened to four laps after a crash during the original second lap involving Cookstown Burrows Engineering Racing Suzuki’s Jamie Hamilton. The details are scarce as of this report, but Hamilton was flown to Nobles Hospital where “his condition was described as serious but not considered life threatening.”
When the shortened four-lap Senior TT began, Hillier had a 0.8 of a second lead over McGuinness at Glen Helen, with 11-time TT winner Hutchy close behind. Vavloline Honda’s Anstey, who won the opening RST Superbike TT, was in fourth, followed by GBmoto Kawasaki’s Gary Johnson and BMW’s Michael Dunlop. As for fan favorite Guy Martin, the TYCO BMW S1000RR pilot was slow to start in 13th.
Hillier continued to lead McGuinness, Hutchy and Anstey as Dunlop moved into fifth place. Johnson slipped back, and Briggs Equipment BMW’s Peter Hickman moved into sixth.
But McGuinness posted an opening lap of 131.850mph – the fastest ever from a standing start – and took the lead. Hutchinson was now into second, followed by Hillier, Anstey, Dunlop and Hickman.
As McGuinness extended his lead at Glen Helen on lap two, Martin battled his way up to fourth. McGuinness finished the second lap in record time – a 132.701mph – allowing him to have a nearly 11-second lead over Hutchinson at Signpost. Hillier remained in third, ahead of Martin, who also broke the old outright lap record with a 132.398mph. Many were quick; the top 11 riders all posted laps over 130mph!
The order remained, and as the riders entered the final lap, McGuinness had an impressive 17.5-second lead over Hutchinson, with Hillier a further 6.6 seconds adrift. As McGuinness pulled away, the battle began for second between Hillier and Hutchinson.
Hillier took over second at Ballaugh, and pulled away, extending his gap to four seconds as they rounded Ramsey Hairpin for the final time.
Up front, McGuinness took his 23rd TT win, and is now just three shy of Joey Dunlop’s record. McGuinness also equaled the record of seven Senior TT wins with Mike Hailwood.
Hillier earned second, and en route also lapped faster than the previous lap record with a 132.414mph.
Hutchinson was able to hold third from Martin, and Dunlop finished fourth. The latter also put in a lap that broke the previous record with a 132.515 mph, making him the second-fastest rider on the Mountain Course.
Honda Racing’s Conor Cummins earned fifth, ahead of Hickman and Anstey, who faded to eighth. Rounding out the top 10 were Smiths Racing BMW’s David Johnson and Penz13.com Bathams BMW’s Michael Rutter.
As for the American’s, Bimota’s Brandon Cretu finished the 2015 Senior TT in 31st. Splitlath EBR’s Mark Miller was forced to retire due to an oil leak on the 1190RX.
Due to his three TT wins and podium finishes, Hutchinson won the Joey Dunlop TT Championship. Earning the top TT Privateer spot was Honda’s Dan Cooper, who finished the Senior TT in 17th.
Looking ahead, McGuinness is closer to completing what many thought was impossible – dethroning Joey Dunlop of his record 26 TT wins. Let the countdown for the 2016 Isle of Man TT begin!
2015 Senior TT Photo Gallery
