John McGuinness joins Quattro Plant Bournemouth Kawasaki
Road racing legend John McGuinness will contest the 2020 Isle of Man TT and International North West 200 road races for Quattro Plant Bournemouth Kawasaki with the Morecambe rider having signed a deal overnight to ride for Pete Extance’s British Superbike Championship-winning team.
McGuinness, who celebrates his 30th year of racing in 2020, will ride Ninja ZX-10RR machinery in the Superbike and Superstock classes at both events and will head into both clearly amongst the favourites for race honours.
John McGuinness
“I’m delighted to announce my plans for the 2020 International road racing season and equally delighted to be riding for Quattro Plant Bournemouth Kawasaki. Their record on the roads with James Hillier, in terms of both results and reliability, along with their reputation within the bike industry, speak for themselves and with it being such a family-orientated team, it’s the perfect fit for me. It’s a highly reputable, professional team who have achieved great things on both the roads and the circuits and, for me, they tick all the boxes.”
“Pete drove all the way up from Bournemouth to Morecambe to meet me and put the offer on the table and it didn’t take much for me to sign – it was an easy decision. Everything made perfect sense and we’ve put together a good plan that will put us in the best position possible for the TT and North West 200. After my performances at Macau, I really got my mojo back and, with my leg now 100%, I feel like I’m as riding as well as ever. Joining Kawasaki and Pete’s team and riding the Ninja ZX-10RR is a new chapter for me, one I’m excited about and really looking forward to.”
The addition of multiple road racer winner McGuinness completes the team’s plans for the season ahead and it makes for a formidable line-up with Alastair Seeley joining him at the North West 200 having signed for the team in November. Previous incumbent James Hiller will ride an OMG BMW at the TT.
Remarkably, it will be the first time McGuinness has ridden a Kawasaki at either event but the now 47-year old has previous experience on the roads for the manufacturer having taken a close second place on a Hawk Racing Kawasaki in the 2004 Ulster Grand Prix Superbike race, finishing just 0.083s behind Kiwi Bruce Anstey.
Riding for Stuart Hicken’s team during the second half of 2004, McGuinness also competed at the International Gold Cup meeting at Oliver’s Mount, Scarborough whilst he also recorded his solitary British Superbike Championship podium that year, finishing third behind John Reynolds and Sean Emmett at Brands Hatch.
The International road races are what he’s become synonymous with in recent times and he can now boast a superb total of 23 wins at the Isle of the Man TT, a figure only bettered by the late, great Joey Dunlop, whilst his tally of 47 podiums is the highest figure of all time.
He was also the outright lap record holder around the 37.73-mile Mountain Course from 2004-2013, regaining the accolade in 2015 when he lapped at a personal best speed of 132.701mph.
His record at the North West 200 is also to be admired with six wins and 21 podiums and both he and Quattro Plant Bournemouth Kawasaki head into 2020 with the sole focus of getting back onto the podium at the TT and NW200.
Pete Extance – Team Owner
“It’s absolutely incredible news that we can welcome road racing legend John McGuinness onto our Quattro Plant Bournemouth Kawasaki machinery. To me, John is Mr TT with his road racing feats elsewhere, at the likes of the North West 200 and Macau Grand Prix, simply superb and what an honour it is to have our Bournemouth Kawasaki dealership associated with him.”
“We both know there’s a big job ahead of us to be ready for the new season but it’s one that we know will be great fun. Hopefully, we can put John McGuinness back on the podium at the Isle of Man TT and North West 200 in 2020, the place where we know he belongs. Together with Alastair, we have a simply stunning line up of riders for the International road races and we can’t wait for it all to start.”
