IF 19-time Isle of Man Tourist Trophy winner John McGuinness says conditions are too dangerous, then the decision to scrap the blue riband PokerStars Senior TT was the correct one, according to Radcliffe racer Rob Barber.

The island’s weather gods were out in force again last week as Friday’s race schedule was moved back to Saturday with only the BikerPetition.co.uk Lightweight TT given the green light late in the day at the request of McGuinness.

Much like the rest of the week though, Barber did himself justice in the three-lap race with his second top-20 finish – with an average speed of 107.201mph around the 37.73-mile mountain course. But despite picking up a bronze replica, Barber was ruing the fact he could not right the wrongs of the curtain-raising Dainese Superbike TT which ended in mechanical failure.

“I’m a little bit disappointed but you can’t help the weather,” he said. “I’d rather not race than race in real dodgy conditions where I’m taking too big of a risk.

“If John [McGuinness] stays I stay, I know John wouldn’t make a silly mistake. We watch his bike like a hawk and go with what tyres he goes with as we did with the 600cc race, so if he says it’s too dangerous then fine.

“We came here with two brand new bikes that we hadn’t never raced with before. We’ve had a few problems with the BMW 1000cc which has been a bit disappointing.

“But we’ve been brilliant on the 600cc to say it’s the first time we have ever ridden it with that engine in – and we did a 120mph lap.

“It’s a good foundation to move forward with for next year, we’ve got a really strong bike and we know where we can make it better. The BMW is really quick, but we’ve got a whole year to sort the problems out.”

Next up on the road for Barber is the Ulster Grand Prix in August when he hopes to have recovered from a mystery wrist injury.

An innocuous accident while parking his machine at home didn’t stop him claiming 17th place in the Monster Energy Supersport race one on Monday but it’s something Barber admits needs rectifying.

He added: “There’s something not right with my wrist, I’m not sure what it is but I’ll be going to the hospital to get it checked out.

“It’s not really bothered me too much but I want to be fit and ready for Ulster, that’s the main one that I want to do now.”

For more information on the Isle of Man TT Races go to www.iomtt.com.

To book or for more information on 2013 TT Races trips including flight, ferry, travel and accommodation, Grandstand tickets or VIP packages contact Regency Travel on 01624 694 455 (www.iomttbreaks. com)