TT legend John McGuinness is named in 2021 New Year Honours
The ‘Morecambe Missile’ gets an MBE; others in the automotive industry also receive gongs
Motorbike road racer John McGuinness has received an MBE award in the Queen’s New Year Honours list.
McGuinness, recognised for services to motorcycle racing, is the second most successful rider around the famous TT course on the Isle of Man. Having competed at the TT since 1996, he has won there a total of 23 times, just three short of the all-time record holder Joey Dunlop.
McGuinness took to Twitter to express how honoured he felt, saying he was “speechless for once!” A previous lap record holder at the TT - the first to achieve an average lap speed of over 130mph - McGuinness went on to say: “30 years of racing, now the icing on the cake an MBE.”
The MBE isn’t the first honour bestowed on McGuinness. There is a left-hand bend on the TT’s famous Mountain section which is named McGuinness’s and, in April 2016, he received the historic Segrave Trophy from the Royal Automobile Club. He’s also an honorary member of the BRDC, only the second motorbike racer to receive the award. The first was multiple Moto GP champion Valentino Rossi.
Two other people working in the automotive industry have also been nominated in the Queen’s New Year Honours. Britishvolt’s Chief Strategy Officer and member of the board of directors, Isobel Sheldon, has been awarded an OBE for services to motor vehicle battery technology.
Britishvolt is a company that’s investing in battery technology in the UK and has recently announced that it wants to target 2023 as the start date for production at Britain’s first gigaplant. Sheldon has been heavily involved in developing lithium-ion batteries at the company.
Catherine Palmer, Head of Change Governance at the DVLA, joins McGuinness in receiving an MBE, in her case for services to motorists.
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