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McGuinness stars on return to Isle of Man TT

Motorcycling legend John McGuinness – who is sponsored by ignition and sensor specialist NGK – celebrated his 100th start at the Isle of Man TT Races on Saturday with a fine fifth place in the six-lap RST Superbike race.

The 23-time winner returned to the top five in a 1000cc race for the first time since 2016 as he appeared back with Honda Racing on the island for the first time in six years on the Honda Fireblade with which he’d enjoyed so much success in the past.

After a successful week of qualifying put him in a good position ahead of the opening race, a solid opening lap of 128.43mph saw McGuinness slot into tenth place and he was then able to increase his pace and steadily work his way up the leaderboard.

A second lap of 129.27mph enabled him to gain three places and climb up to seventh and that soon became fourth after a fine pit stop by his crew at the end of the lap. However, only 13s covered McGuinness in fourth to seventh placed James Hillier with regular sparring partner Ian Hutchinson and Jamie Coward sandwiched in between.

A fourth lap of 129.14mph meant McGuinness’s advantage over Hutchinson was just 3.5s and with the Bingley rider having a quicker sixth and final lap, he was able to overhaul McGuinness who held on for fifth place.

Commenting on the BikeSport website, McGuinness said: “Did I think I’d win it? No. Did I enjoy it? Yes. And after having some dark days in the past, never did I think I’d be doing this again, setting off at number 1 on the Honda Fireblade and running round the Mountain Course at close to 130mph.”

Mark Hallam, Marketing Manager, NGK Spark Plugs (UK) Ltd, said: “It was an incredible achievement by John  on his return to the TT taking into account his time off the bike. I’m sure his many fans were thrilled at seeing him back in action at the iconic event where he has achieved so much success.”

NGK has long been synonymous with the two-wheel bike scene both on the road and in the motorcycling racing arena where its spark plugs have helped the world’s leading teams and riders to numerous victories

It is the world’s number one original equipment (OE) fitment and its Iridium IX spark plugs are popular with motorcyclists for their ability to provide enhanced ignition efficiency, better acceleration, faster starting and smoother running, longer life, and better fuel consumption.

For more information about NGK and its products and services, please visit the website at www.ngkntk.com/uk   

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Notes to Editors

About NGK SPARK PLUG:

Worldwide: NGK SPARK PLUG is one of the leading automotive and technical ceramics suppliers, with its corporate headquarters in Nagoya, Japan and sales organisations and production facilities all over the world. The automotive side of the company specialises in the fields of ignition and sensor technology, supplying Original Equipment customers across the globe. For the Aftermarket, its product portfolio comprises spark plugs, glow plugs, ignition coils and leads under the NGK Ignition Parts brand. Under the brand NTK Vehicle Electronics the company offers oxygen sensors (including NOx sensors), exhaust gas temperature sensors (EGTS), mass air flow (MAF) and manifold absolute/boost pressure (MAP) sensors as well as engine speed and position sensors. With around 16,400 employees, the company’s automotive and technical ceramics activities generate a total annual turnover of around 3.7 billion Euros worldwide. NGK SPARK PLUG’s EMEA sales represent 32% of this global turnover. NGK SPARK PLUG operates on all continents and has 60 group companies, 35 production plants, five Technical Centres and three Venture Labs.

 

Aftermarket EMEA: NGK SPARK PLUG has seen significant growth across the Aftermarket since expanding beyond motorcycle parts into the automotive sector in the 1970s. With an outstanding commitment to quality, technology and research & development the company has become the world’s number one in spark plugs and oxygen sensors, and a leading provider of glow plugs, ignition coils and leads as well as further sensor technology. Organisationally NGK SPARK PLUG’s regional headquarters in Ratingen, Germany serves the Aftermarket across Europe, the Middle East and Africa. In the EMEA region the company has six regional companies and more than 1,000 employees, as well as two production plants in France and South Africa and a Technical Centre in Germany.

 

For more information please visit: www.ngkntk.com

 

For further information please contact:

Annika Lustig, Specialist PR & Communications, Aftermarket EMEA, NGK SPARK PLUG EUROPE GmbH
Harkortstr. 41, 40880 Ratingen, Germany, AG Duesseldorf HRB 43118
Tel: +49 (0)21 02 974 152        E-mail: a_lustig@ngkntk.de

 

UK & Ireland - For further information contact:

Andy Hurst

Hurst Media Services

Tel: +44 (0)1354 657253; Mobile: 0773 694 7803

Email: andyh.stonecross@binternet.com

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