Isle of Man TT legend John McGuinness has been confirmed with Norton for the 2018 race week.
bikesportnews.com reported the Morecambe Missile had a deal on the table with the Castle Donington manufacturer some weeks ago and it was announced today that he will join Josh Brookes in the Superbike and Senior races.
“I didn’t want to end my career due to an injury, but the truth is I didn’t know whether I would be able to come back as I didn’t know how fit I was going to be. Right now, things are going well. I feel a lot sharper and my head is in gear and ready to go,” said McGuinness.
The plan is to get the external fixator cage off my leg by the end of this month and after that we can start working towards getting bike fit and testing.”
“I’m definitely ready for a change of manufacturer. I needed an injection of enthusiasm and I’ve found it with Norton. From the first time I met with Stuart (Garner) the vibe was there and the passion. I watched Steve Hislop win the TT on the Norton in 1992 and it was massive. Everyone remembers that!
“We can’t get carried away, it’s going to be a big job but I’ve watched a lot of YouTube videos of the bike in action, I watched the bike out on track last year and it’s clearly a very fast and capable bike and I can tell you there are worse handling bikes out there too, so there’s no reason we can’t do the business if the stars line up right.”
McGuinness last won a Superbike class race in 2015, the PokerStars Senior TT, which also saw him breaking the outright lap record with a lap of 132.701mph, which remains his fastest lap around the Mountain Course.
He achieved podiums in both the 2016 RST Superbike and PokerStars Senior TT but missed last year’s TT race meeting due to serious injuries sustained in the North West 200, which he is still recovering from. However, he expects to be back to full fitness in time for his TT debut with Norton this June.
