1995 and John Achieved a lifelong ambition when he raced his first Manx Grand Prix. For this John bought a Yamaha FZR 400 RRSP which had both crash damage and blown engine. The chassis and engine were fettled and race team FOUR LEAF RACING formed for the Isle of Man support. John completed both the Newcomers Race and the Lightweight Race (the only rider from his then home county of Gloucestershire to finish any races that year)! With a best lap average of 93mph on the 37.7 mile course.
1996 saw a return to the Manx Grand Prix on a more competitive 1992 Honda RS250. This demonstrated the darker element of the Island – A first practice lap on the Monday resulted in a crash at Brandywell. Uninjured John continued to Wednesday evenings’ practice when a snapped conrod locked his gearbox and rear wheel on the fast approach to Glen Vine. Despite a lucky escape the motor was wrecked and although John qualified on a borrowed machine he reluctantly withdrew from that years’ race.
1998 Despite blowing one engine, his best practice lap came to 98.5 mph in the new Ultra Lightweight Class and on race day John finished in 18th place and was awarded a silver replica.
1999 He returned to the Manx on sponsor Cleaver Browne's 1989 Honda RS250 (once owned by Joey Dunlop) and finally cracked the 100mph barrier!He finished in 23rd place in the Lightweight Race.
2000 saw John win his second replica in the Ultra Lightweight Class on a standard Honda RVF 400 coming in 11th place.