John McGuinness, one of the most successful riders in the history of the Isle of Man TT motorcycle races, took a trip with his wife Becky to Windsor Castle on Tuesday 15th February to collect his MBE from the Princess Royal for services to motorcycle racing.
After a two year hiatus due to the pandemic, the Isle of Man TT Races returns to the racing calendar at the end of May. For John McGuinness this will be a momentous year, he will have just turned 50 years of age, he will achieve his 100th start in a TT race and having returned to Honda, 2022 is the 30th anniversary of the Honda Fireblade.
Known as the Morecambe Missile, John is the second most successful TT rider of all time behind the late Joey Dunlop. McGuinness has won 23 races at the Isle of Man TT and is the second most successful rider ever at the TT behind Ballymoney legend Dunlop, who has 26 victories.
Gary Thompson MBE BEM, Isle of Man TT Clerk of the Course commented “A great day for John and Becky. One they can be immensely and justly proud of. John has been and is a great ambassador for the TT and for British Motorcycle sport in general, a true icon of Road Racing and only right he should be recognised in this way”.