Honda celebrate success at 2012

The 2012 Isle of Man TT came to a close this weekend and despite the Senior TT being cancelled for the first time in the event’s 105-year history, the event was an unprecedented success for Honda, who took victory in three of the five solo motorcycle races contested and graced the podium 11 out of a possible 15 times*. Both the Superbike and the first Supersport race at the start of the week ended with a Honda 1-2-3; McGuinness taking victory in the first aboard his Honda TT Legends CBR1000RR Fireblade and in the latter, Padgetts Racing’s Bruce Anstey piloting his Honda CBR600RR to what was the second closest TT victory in history, with a winning margin of just 0.77 seconds. McGuinness’s win in that followed in the Superstock class – also with Padgetts Racing – aboard the near stock Fireblade, took the tally of Honda TT wins to 163. The decision to cancel the Senior TT at the end of the week, deprived McGuinness of the chance to challenge for his 20th Isle of Man TT victory, but there is always next year for the ‘Morecambe Missile’, currently sitting on 19 TT wins. There appears to be no sign of him stopping anytime soon as he closes in on the great, late Joey Dunlop’s total tally of 26 TT wins. In amongst all the success there was one moment of misfortune when Honda TT Legends rider, Simon Andrews crashed at Grahams during lap one of the Superbike race. He was immediately taken to hospital to receive treatment for his injuries. He is now expected to make a full recovery. The dominant performance of Honda machines across all contested classes proved once again that the Honda is the bike to be on to challenge the 37.73 Isle of Man TT mountain course, one of the most mechanically demanding in all of motorsport. Neil Tuxworth, Manager – Honda Racing: “The TT is always such a magical event for Honda. It is where Honda began racing and have been coming for over 50 years to compete, with numerous successes during this period. To come back with the manufacturer’s title, three solo wins out of five races and with a total of 11 podiums – two of which comprised fully of Honda is a fantastic reward for all the hard work put. The Honda TT Legends, Padgetts Racing and Wilson Craig Racing teams all performed with such professionalism and proved once again that the Honda is still the most competitive machine out there, across all classes.” From motoring news