For the third year in a row, John McGuinness was left to rue what might have been when he was forced to retire on the opening lap of the 500cc Classic TT. The Morecambe Missile was leading at Glen Helen by just over a second from team-mate Ryan Farquhar before running into front brake issues with the Team Winfield Paton which led to him stopping at Parliament Square.

Having set the fastest lap in practice, 110.634mph, for the third year in a row, McGuinness was hoping to add a Classic TT win to his 23 Isle of Man TT wins but, just like twelve months ago, he failed to complete a lap. Indeed, his only racing lap since the Classic TT begun came in 2013 when a misfire meant it was a lowly 93mph lap.
 
“What can I say, it’s been a hugely disappointing Classic TT again. No-one’s doing anything wrong and the team have worked tirelessly and what makes it frustrating is that the bike never missed a beat in practice. I did four faultless laps but I started to feel a vibration along the Cronk y Voddy. I didn’t know what the problem was so carried on in the hope that it would clear but it got worse and I had little option other than to stop,” said McGuinness.
 
“As a rider, it’s easier to see a hole in the engine or something like that but when I stopped, I saw straightaway there was a problem with the front disc. It’s not through a lack of effort on anyone’s behalf and with Ryan stopping on the same lap, it’s just such a shame for the whole team. We’ll just have to come back next year and give it another go.”