TT 2015: Hillier dodges pheasant on way to Superbike third

Quattro Kawasaki’s James Hillier had to contend with wildlife throwing itself at him and trying to keep legend John McGuinness in sight on his way to picking up third place in today’s RST Superbike TT.

Quattro Kawasaki’s James Hillier had to contend with wildlife throwing itself at him and trying to keep legend John McGuinness in sight on his way to picking up third place in today’s RST Superbike TT.

The Bournemouth man had planned to try and stay with McGuinness who started ten seconds ahead and in a repeat of last year, he was with the Honda man for much of the race but reversed the result, finishing ahead of the Morecamble Missile.

“With John starting ahead of me, my plan was always to try and chase him down and I couldn’t have been happier with my opening lap. I got a glimpse of him in a few places and tried to close him down and I eventually caught him on the second lap,” said Hillier, speaking after the race.

“I knew I’d be fairly close to the podium if I could do that but Bruce, Hutchy and Michael were lapping just that little bit quicker. There were a few rain showers on the west part of the course as well and I had a pheasant come out in front of me in Kirk Michael so that unsettled me a bit.

“After the second pit stop, John came by me again and I could see he was going hard so I made sure I kept him in my sight. Bruce and Michael caught and passed us both and doing a bit of high-speed maths told me I was probably going to finish in fourth, which would still have been a good result.

“As it was, Michael had a coming together with a slower rider and I brought the bike home for third. I feel about 20 years older now and my knees are killing me but it’s a good start to the week. It was an amazing job by the team and a massive effort whilst the pit stops were superb.”

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