Isle of Man TT legend John McGuinness has paid tribute to Ian Hutchinson's comeback win at Macau on Saturday, saying it is an 'unbelieveable achievement'.

The 20-time IOM winner finished fourth in the race after a front-row start but wasn't able to add another win to the victory he took some 12 years ago at the Guia circuit.

“2001 is a long time ago and I’d have loved nothing more than another win here but I’ve put my heart and soul in and gone round as hard as I could all weekend," said McGuinness.

"I got a great start and slotted into third going into Lisboa but before I knew it, Hutchy had gone by and the front three boys were four seconds down the road. Their pace in the first couple of laps was incredibly strong and try as I might, the gap kept creeping up.”

“When Jimmy overtook, it woke me up a bit and I dug deep again to get by him and although I wasn’t able to make it onto the podium, it was a solid fourth place. The bike’s been good, the team’s been good and we’ve all enjoyed ourselves, I just couldn’t really have done any more.

"I have to say hats off to Hutchy. He hasn’t been on a bike for a long, long time, so to take the win, pole position and fastest lap in such hot company and on one of the toughest tracks in the world is an unbelievable achievement.”