UPDATE: It has been confirmed that Guy will be racing alongside McGuinness at the Isle of Man TT in 2017 on the Honda CBR 1000 RR SP2 Fireblade!
Guy Martin – “Neil [Tuxworth] has been talking to me for a while about joining the team, but I had a lot of thinking to do before I committed and said yes. I spent a lot of time on my push bike to and from work, thinking about what to do. I didn’t want to grow old regretting not giving the Honda a go, and the more time passes since making the decision, the more time I’ve thought it is the right decision. Honda is a great team and the Fireblade has always been a weapon on the roads, so with the new bike, I‘m keen to give it a go. We’ve got a busy testing schedule coming up and I’ve put some other stuff off to make time. John [McGuinness] is the man, I’ve got massive respect for him and I’m looking forward to racing on the Fireblade against him.”
John McGuinness – “I’m back with Honda for another year; really I’m part of the family, and I can’t wait to see what the new Fireblade SP2 can do! I know the old model like the back of my hand and have taken a lot of my TT wins with the old girl, so I can’t wait to get out on track and try the new machine out. I have a good feeling about this year and think we have a really good package to show that we mean business. I of course would like another TT win and I would quite like my lap record back! I always say when it’s broken that the lads are just borrowing it and I hope this year that this is the case. I am sad to say bye to the old Fireblade; I have a lot of history and good memories with that bike, but testing the new model can’t come soon enough and neither can the race season. I’m excited to have Guy as my new team-mate; we’ve enjoyed many a racing battle over the years and I’m looking forward to seeing what we can both do.”
Photo Courtesy: Honda Racing
Rumours abound on the interweb currently, that the charismatic racer, Guy Martin is set to return to race at the Isle of Man TT in 2017 on board the new Honda CBR 1000 RR.
We do not know how accurate this story is, since Martin had stated that he had no intention of racing again at the IOM TT or any other motorcycle race. But the rider has flip-flopped over this statement, by stating that he cannot predict what might come up in the future!
In 2015 the Grimbsy man hasn’t raced after the crash at the Ulster Grand Prix in 2015, where he fractured multiple vertebrae. He then chose to opt out of the 2016 IOM TT races as he said he was focussing on other things in life. Which included being a TV star, writing a book and taking part in the gruelling Tour Divide MTB Race. He also set a world record by riding at 125 kmph on the Wall of Death. He then headed to the Bonneville Salt Flats with Triumph to break the land speed record. This is what he had to say before the Tour Divide cycle race:
Plenty of folk have been asking what I’m up to this year.
I fancy a change of scenery. I’ve been racing the TT for 11 years. All I’ve really done since I was 18, except the trucks, is race motorbikes and my brain needs something else. Every year’s the same: testing, racing, then start again. It brought it home to me when I was lying in hospital after the Ulster Grand Prix crash. I’ve been on about the Tour Divide, the toughest pushbike race in the world, for three years and I thought I’ll blink and next thing I’ll be 45, so I’m going to do it this year. I like breaking myself mentally and the Tour Divide will be tough, but it’s same time at TT, so that’s forced me to make a choice.
I’m not done with motorbikes. I’m attempting the Wall of Death record in the spring and having a go at the land speed record in the summer and if I do race on the roads it will be with TAS.
After the Tour Divide I might never want to see a pushbike again – or never want to go road racing again, I don’t know. But I do know Bruce Anstey and John McGuinness are still racing the TT, and they’ve got a few years on me, so maybe I’ll come back next year. Or maybe I’ll find something else interesting to do. I’ve got more interests than just motorbikes and I just think let’s bloody have ‘em.
Thanks very much as ever for the support.
Guy.
It is not impossible to see Martin returning to the IOM TT, but before he does so, he needs to race in 6 different races to be eligible to race on the mountain course. He has though never won there and last year Ian Hutchinson and Michael Dunlop clean sweeped the races on their BMWs. It will be anything but an easy return, if he does choose to return. Even TT legend John McGuinness struggled on his long in the tooth Honda to keep up with the BMWs.
Enter the new Honda CBR 1000RR SP2! Martin is rumoured to have signed up with Honda to race their new bike on the mountain course. Most probably racing alongside McGuinness, who would be happy to have new machinery! This though comes as a bit of a surprise, as Martin has been actively involved with Triumph Motorcycles in 2016 and one would have expected him to race the Daytona 675R in the Supersport race if at all he chose to make a return to the island.
Though new machinery doesn’t guarantee success at the TT, as we saw last year with Bruce Anstey on the Honda RC213v-s. The first year for any new machine generally requires time for data gathering and only in the second year do you see success. The new Fireblade will be raced in WSBK with Nicky Hayden and Stefan Bradl piloting the machine.
Will the first year bring immediate success to the Honda riders on their new machinery? An uphill task, more so for Guy Martin, if these rumours do turn out to be true, since he has been off the competitive saddle for an entire year! Though the IOM TT paddock will be glad to have the maverick back!
Source: Drivetribe and Newsletter UK
