Michael Rutter, left, and John McGuinness at the Ambassador Hotel. (Picture by Tony Rive, 0602458)
CAVALCADE stars John McGuinness and Michael Rutter are used to the dangers of riding at the limit. Nigel Baudains met two of his biking heroes as part of Millard’s centenary celebrations.
THE lap record holder on the Isle of Man TT course was restricted on Saturday by a 25mph speed limit on Guernsey roads.
John McGuinness and fellow superbike rider, Michael Rutter, rode at the head of a cavalcade from Bulwer Avenue to Victoria Road to celebrate Millard & Co.’s centenary.
McGuinness, 34, became the first rider to lap the Isle of Man’s 37-mile circuit at more than 130mph on his way to victory in last year’s centenary Senior TT.
Rutter, 35, won the 1998 Junior TT and has a long pedigree in superbike racing.
He came to Guernsey fresh from his victory in the last round of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship at Mallory Park.
Some of his greatest victories have come on the street circuits of Northern Ireland’s North West 200 and in the Macau GP. He currently rides for the Northwest 200 Ducati team.
Both men said the danger was part of the job.
‘If it wasn’t dangerous there wouldn’t be the excitement and if it was easy everybody would be doing it,’ said McGuinness.
‘It becomes dangerous when your mind’s not set on it. People get killed in the TT which attracts some people to it, which is quite sad in a way.’
Rutter said he blocked the danger from his mind, which was easier when things were going well.
McGuinness and partner Becky have been together for 19 years and they have a son, Ewan, 7.
‘Ewan looks on race days as a holiday in the motorhome,’ said Honda rider McGuinness.
‘He has lots of friends around the paddock and he’s well known there. He has no interest in motorbikes and would rather be on his Playstation.
‘Becky is 100% behind me, though she was a little apprehensive 11 years ago when I said I wanted to do the TT.’
Rutter and partner Suzie have two daughters, Juliette, 8, and Cecilia, 6.
They, too, are supportive, but he admits it must be difficult for them to watch from the side.
‘It’s easier for the rider as we know what is going on,’ he said.
McGuinness’ victory in last month’s Senior TT was his 14th success in the island and put him equal with Mike Hailwood as the second-most successful rider in the event’s history.
Hailwood quit the TT in 1967 when he turned to car racing, but in 1978 he made a triumphant return to the island.
Rutter has doubts that could ever happen again. He quit the TT in 2000 before returning for the centenary event last year.
‘It was a shock when I came back and I was amazed at how things had changed,’ he said. ‘For a start, the track was a lot smoother than I remembered it.’
McGuinness never met Hailwood, who died in a road accident in 1981, but he has met his widow, Pauline, and son, David.
‘When I started to get near him in terms of wins people started comparing us,’ he said. ‘It was surreal and almost as if I was racing against a ghost.’
One person who McGuinness did know well was Joey ‘yer maun’ Dunlop, the greatest TT rider of all time with 26 wins.
‘I was his last teammate in 2000,’ he said.
‘As a kid I’d stick his picture on my wall and when I first met him when I was 14, I told him I’d stand next to him on the podium one day, which I finally did at the 1997 TT.’
The Northern Ireland rider was killed in a race meeting in Estonia, aged 48, in 2000.
‘He was a different bloke but in a nice sort of way and he never used to say much,’ said McGuinness.
‘When others were out partying in the evening, he was happier fiddling with his bikes. I remember he turned up for qualifying at one TT with a van, unloaded six bikes, got on one of them, set off without using tyre warmers and set a new lap record.’
Rutter said the TT and the North West 200 were his favourite events.
‘It’s almost like going back in time and far more relaxing,’ he said.
‘It’s racing how it should be.’
He said the best part of the British Superbike Champion-ship was riding the bike as the corporate side was now very demanding.
‘The sponsors are putting the money up and they want a share of you,’ he said.
‘These days they try and make the riders more accessible to the crowds, which is fair enough, but it can be difficult being friendly to everybody all the time, especially when things are not going well.’
McGuinness has no immediate plans for retirement and said he would take things as they came.
‘You never know what’s going to happen in racing and as long as I feel strong, I’ll carry on,’ he said.
Article posted on 7th July, 2008 - 2.29pm
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