“It’s weird because you go out with these guys and you’re looking at what they’re doing and not concentrating on what you’re doing,” adds the 52-year-old, who’s been racing for 34 years. “I rode with them all – Bezzecchi, Rins and the rest.

“They’re very different to me. They’ve adapted to these new styles where they sit the bike up out of corners and they hold on to the end of the handlebars with the end of their wrists. I’ve been trying to study it.”

Top MotoGP riders now hang off their motorcycles so far – to make the bike turn better by moving more mass to the inside of the corner – that they can no longer hold the inside handlebar in the usual way. So they rotate their inside hand and wrist outward, so the hand can be as much as 35 degrees out of line with the handlebar grip.

This allows riders to extend their inside arm further out of the bike, which brings with it the shoulder and most importantly the head (because a rider’s head and helmet weight a lot – around six to seven kilos!).

This hand/arm movement has a further benefit. By allowing riders to bring their inside shoulder to the inside of the corner it also helps them move their body weight towards the front of the bike, which reduces wheelies when they open the throttle to accelerate.

Hardly surprising, but McGuinness couldn’t get the hang of holding the handlebars in a different way.

“Once they’re in that position it must be easier to get the bike turned and it gets them into that sweet spot in the corners. They do turn fast! I learned what they do but I cannot do it. It doesn’t feel natural to me – I’m a creature of habit, so I do my own thing.”

During the Silverstone track day, McGuinness also tried dangling his inside leg into corners, as all the fastest riders do now, but that didn’t work for him either.

“I had a little leg trail, because it’s obviously the new-generation style, but it seems so alien to me.”

McGuinness found the world’s fastest bike racers make the biggest difference accelerating out of corners, where they load the outside footpeg to help wrench the bike upright onto the fatter shoulder of the rear tyre, for more grip.

“They brake really, really hard. The problem for me at my age is that I can’t brake as hard as they do – they brake incredibly hard and incredibly deep, stop the bike and turn. Coming out of corners they put tenths and tenths into you.

“I’m just stuck in my rut! I still rush into corners, while they pick it up and drive off of the turns. It’s very hard for me to change my style at 52 – but I’d love to get my elbows down!”

McGuinness is having a good 2024 so far. He followed his North West podium with a strong TT race week, capped by fifth place in the Senior TT.

“I just rolled up my sleeves and dug in a bit more. I haven’t forgotten how to ride a motorbike. Maybe last year I didn’t believe in myself, so I put in the work this year. I may be grey, but I’ve still got the focus.

“I look at it like this – I’m 52 and I’ve got a giant cake and I keep getting sprinklings of icing on the cake – the North West was icing on the cake, so was the TT and so was the Silverstone track day.”

McGuinness will race in both Superstock races this weekend – the first on Saturday, the second on Sunday, using all the tips Rossi gave him. The grid will include three other top TT riders: 2024 Senior TT winner and current Superstock points leader Davey Todd, lap-record holder Hickman and 2024 Senior runner-up Josh Brookes.

BSB riders and teams will be based in the national paddock, between Woodcote and Copse corners. The paddock will be open to all fans and team garages will be back to front, so they open into the paddock, for a better fan experience.