John McGuinness enjoyed another successful trip to Oliver’s Mount, Scarborough at the weekend and the Morecambe ace claimed the David Jefferies Trophy for the first time in his illustrious career.

Never off the podium in his four races, McGuinness put in a series of high class performances on the Padgett’s Honda’s and he was rewarded for his efforts with a brace of second place finishes and a pair of thirds.

With ideal racing conditions on Saturday around the undulating Oliver’s Mount circuit, John got Saturday underway in the 250cc Phil Mellor Trophy race and he led the field round at the completion of the first lap.

With an extremely competitive pace, fellow Honda riders Ian Lougher and William Dunlop eventually pushed John back to 3rd but a fine third place was achieved and he backed this up with a brilliant second in the opening 600cc race.

There was little between the leading five riders but John again had to give second best to Dunlop although he was only 0.504seconds adrift at the chequered flag and he did have the consolation of setting the fastest lap.

Sunday’s 250cc Lee Pullan Trophy race again saw John claim the final step of the podium but he saved the best until last with a brilliant ride in the second leg of the 600cc David Jefferies Trophy.

An excellent start saw John shoot off into the lead but it transpired he had jumped the start and although he was leading on the road, the time penalty issued kept everyone on the edge of the seats. John led the way race for the entire 8 laps, keeping some of the sports finest stars at bay and although he was put back to 2nd on corrected time, he only missed out on the win by a tenth of a second, also breaking the old class lap record.

However, second place was still enough for him to claim overall victory in the two races and another piece of silverware made its way back to Morecambe.

Speaking afterwards, a pleased John commented: “I love racing at Scarborough and it’s been a really enjoyable weekend. The entry was superb but we were very competitive on the 600 and they were the best races of the weekend.

"‘DJ’ was a big mate of mine and I still miss him so it was great to get my name on the trophy for the first time and a real honour. I rode my hardest from start to finish and I was under pressure throughout – at every corner, all I could here was the sound of engines! It’s a shame Pauline, DJ’s Mum, couldn’t be here to see it, but I’m sure she’s smiling somewhere.

“It was good to get out on the 250 again and get some solid results and I still enjoy racing here as much as what I did 12 years ago, when I made debut in 1996. I get a real buzz being out there and the club do a great job so it’s nice to come along and put on a bit of a show. The atmosphere was great and the whole team were here to enjoy the craic and the delights of downtown Scarborough. It’s a great circuit, there’s been some top racing and a big crowd has turned out and it doesn’t get much better than that!”