Oulton Update: Martin shows strong form at Oulton
Guy Martin showed his true racing colours on Monday when he was competing in round 2 of the British Supersport Championship at Oulton Park. The Hydrex Honda star had endured two up and down days of qualifying but moved from 25th on the grid to 8th in the race after just three and a half laps and although he pulled in shortly after due to rain falling, he did more than enough to show his racers’ credentials.
Having placed 25th in the first of Sunday’s qualifying sessions, Guy knocked three tenths of a second off his time in final qualifying but this still left him in 25th on the grid and he spearheaded the seventh row. However, conditions were far from ideal come race day and this played right into Guy’s hands as he took advantage of his rivals’ reservations.
After the first race was aborted, Guy made a great start in the re-start and a scintillating first lap placed him 12th having overhauled no less than 13 riders in just 2.69-miles. He continued to advance forward in the next couple of laps and had worked his way up to 8th on the 4th lap. However, despite a top ten position being very much on the cards, Guy opted for caution over valour when rain began to fall and, mindful of the forthcoming road races, wisely pulled in which proved to be a sensible decision with almost half the 31-man field failing to finish.
Speaking after the meeting, Guy said:
“There are still a few things with the bike I’m not 100% happy with but we’ve made good progress this weekend and are definitely heading in the right direction, it’s just a case of fine tuning the bike now to give us those last few tenths. I was a bit disappointed with my position on the grid as I felt I was strong enough to get inside the top 15 but I got my head down on the first lap and passed people here, there and everywhere!”
“I worked my way up to eighth and had the group in front of me firmly in my sights so I was confident of climbing even further up the leaderboard but when the rain started to fall the circuit was really greasy and there was too much at stake to risk falling off at a short circuit race. I opted to pull in but I showed I can cut it on the circuits and we can head to the North West 200 in a good frame of mind. We’ve still got a lot of work to do but I’m confident we’ll be in the mix when race day comes.”
The International North West 200 races take place on the 8.9-mile public roads that link the towns of Portstewart, Coleraine and Portrush. Practice gets underway next Tuesday with the races taking place on Saturday 16 May.
Images by Glynne Lewis
Phil Wain
Freelance PR
