John McGuinness: Racer hints at retirement after 2022 Isle of Man TT

John McGuinness was appointed MBE in the 2021 New Year Honours

Motorcyclist John McGuinness has indicated he may retire following this year's Isle of Man TT races in June.

The 49-year-old from Morecambe has racked up 23 wins on the Mountain Course since his debut in 1996.

After collecting his MBE for services to motorcycle racing at Windsor Castle on Tuesday, he said the 2022 races "could possibly be my last TT".

McGuinness is the event's second most successful rider in history, just three behind Joey Dunlop's 26-win haul.

He was also the first rider to lap the course at 130mph, a feat he achieved during the centenary of the races in 2007.

He last took the top step on the podium on the island in the Senior Classic TT in 2019.

However, in his last outing on the island on modern machinery, in June the same year, he failed to finish in the Senior TT race.

That turned out to be the event's final race for two years, due to the island's border closure as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

He said: "Last time I raced there I didn't have a great TT, and I didn't want to finish my racing career on a breakdown so this, never said it before, could possibly be my last TT.

"But I wanted to just go there with everything, you know, all the i's dotted and t's crossed, and go and enjoy it and see where we end up."

John McGuinness last competed on the Isle of Man in 2019

With the TT set to return this year, McGuinness said the racers were "a little bit nervous" about returning to the 37-mile course after the two-year hiatus.

He said: "We did some racing through Covid but not the road racing like in the Isle of Man, so we've all been away for two years.

"The bikes are getting faster, none of us have been there, so we're all nervous, there's a lot of anticipation."

However, he said once the riders got going on the course, they would be "flat out... doing what we do".

McGuinness said the 2022 event coincided with some significant milestones in his career, including leading up to his "century of starts".

"I'll be 50 years old, which is probably one of the oldest on the grid, it's 30 years of anniversary of the Honda Fireblade, which I ride, so there's loads of little boxes being ticked," he added.

The Isle of Man TT races, which are set to be streamed live for first time, are scheduled to take place between 28 May and 11 June.