One of the Isle of Man TT’s greatest-ever riders, John McGuinness MBE, has revealed the moment on the Mountain Course that left him so shaken he pulled out of a race mid-way through.

With 23 TT victories to his name, McGuinness is the third most successful rider in the event’s history, behind only Joey Dunlop (26 wins) and Michael Dunlop (33).

But despite his incredible record, the ‘Morecambe Missile’ says the 37.7-mile course remains as unforgiving as ever.

Speaking to Lucas Stewart in a YouTube interview filmed on a golf course, McGuinness reflected on both his earliest TT memories and one of the most frightening experiences of his career.

‘The earliest memory for me was going to the races in 1982, I was10 years old and my dad actually raced an event before the TT starts in what’s called the Jurby Road Races,’ he said.

‘When that finished the TT practice started... you’ll go somewhere like Bray Hill, which is flat out inches from the riders going past you, and I thought wow, that’s a bit of me that, I’m going to be a TT rider.’

John McGuiness refers to a near miss in Crosby, at the same spot where his 'best mate' and godfather to his son David Jeffries lost his life in 2003. John was actually first at the scene of that crash and has previously described the aftermath as 'like a warzone' with telephone wires down and debris across the course
John McGuiness refers to a near miss in Crosby, at the same spot where his 'best mate' and godfather to his son David Jefferies lost his life in 2003. John was actually first at the scene of that crash and has previously described the aftermath as 'like a warzone' with telephone wires down and debris across the course (Isle of Man TT Races)

Asked about his closest call on the course, McGuinness recalled a terrifying moment in Marown during the 2005 TT that forced him to stop the race.

‘I remember one in 2005 in Crosby, I’ll never forget it, it’s absolutely engrained in my brain,’ he said.

‘Was going past the church and it sort of rolled a little bit on the corner (into Crosby), some guys can do it flat, and I just rolled a bit into there and lost the front, it scared me that much I stopped, pulled out of that race.

‘But it was where my best mate got killed in 2003, my mate David Jefferies, godfather to my son... I had Dave Jefferies’ crash in my head and just stopped.’

Jefferies was killed at Crosby during practice week in 2003, a tragedy McGuinness says still lingers every time he rides past the spot.