It's been an eventful practice week for the Honda TT Legends at the 2011 Isle of Man TT but after the final session this evening both John McGuinness and Keith Amor are ready to race in tomorrow's six-lap Superbike battle.
The week began in impressive style for both riders despite heavy rain putting a premature stop to the first session. They tackled the TT circuit in close formation to top the leader board in the early stages ‰ÛÒ McGuinness with a 122.838mph lap and Amor with 122.637mph.
The weather took a turn for the better on Tuesday with near-perfect conditions for the evening practice. It was another good day for John McGuinness as he set the pace and topped the timesheet for the second day in a row with a lap of 129.041mph. Amor ended the session in seventh.
"I'm as prepared as I'm going to be for the race," McGuinness said. "The bike's working terrifically and I've had a reasonably good practice week. If the sun shines tomorrow I'm going to have to be going really fast to win it. There's some really competitive boys out there who've been going really fast in practice but I want to win it as much as any of them. I'm starting number one so I'm the man to chase and as soon as the flag drops I'll be away as fast as I can. I definitely want to win it ‰ÛÒ it's what I'm here for.
Wednesday proved tough for the team as Keith Amor suffered a highside at Quarterbridge after hitting a patch of oil on his superstock machine. The result was a painful separation of the shoulder joint, ending his session and leaving him out of practice on Thursday.
"The week started off really well ‰ÛÒ we had a good amount of time on the superbike and we were working well towards a good set up," Amor said. "Hitting an oil patch and highsiding was not in the plan, but the doctor has said I'm ok to race and I still feel strong enough to be able to do a good job. I'm trying not to get my up hopes too high as I don't want to be disappointed but on the flipside of that I don't to let them get too low either. Let's see what tomorrow brings.
In the end, Thursday's session was cancelled due to an oil spill, meaning today's sun-soaked practice was the next and final opportunity to get to grips with the famous TT circuit. Having received the all clear from the medical team, Amor showed his grit with a two laps on his supersport machine and a lap on the Fireblade. McGuinness ended the week by pushing past the 130mph barrier with a 130.615 lap to end the practice week as the second fastest rider overall.
Neil Tuxworth, team manager, said, "It's been a bit of a mixed week but overall we're pleased. Keith had a crash that we thought might put him out of the meeting, however tonight he's gone out and done three laps so he's reasonably happy. It will be difficult for him but at least he can do the race tomorrow and I'm sure he'll be competitive. John is much happier tonight ‰ÛÒ he has said that the bike is handling as well as last year. He's ended second fastest so generally I'd say it's been a good week."
Main Photo: John McGuinness in action
Credit: HRC
