GUY MARTIN RACING

Guy Martin’s hopes of claiming his debut TT win were dashed on Friday when he was forced to retire from the Senior TT. The Hydrex Honda rider was lying in third place after four laps of the 37.73-mile Mountain Course but as he went to leave the pits after his second pit stop, the chain snapped and his race was over.

There was a scare for Guy before the race when the bike refused to fire up and he nearly missed his start time but he made it in time and was soon on his way. With the front forks from his 2008 machine fitted to the bike, it took Guy much of the first lap to get used to the new set-up and this could be seen with his relatively low position of 6th at the end of the first lap. A 129mph+ lap second time round moved him up a place and this became third a lap later.

With his best lap of the race, 129.348mph, coming on the fourth lap, he was up to third as he entered the pits for his second scheduled stop. Everything went to plan with a rear wheel change and fuel added but when he clicked the bike into gear to exit, the chain snapped and he was cruelly forced out of the race.

Speaking after the race a disappointed Guy said, “It’s been a week of two halves for me. The first part was great with the three podiums but the second half has given us nothing but disappointment with retirements in both the second Supersport and Senior races. I had a scare at the beginning of the Senior when the bike wouldn’t start but we got going although it took me a while to get into the race as the bike felt completely different with the new forks.”

“I’d worked my way up to third though and hadn’t given up hope of climbing further up the leaderboard but when I went to put the bike into gear after the second pit stop the chain broke clean off, another one of those problems that we could have done nothing about. It’s been a mixed TT but I was the only rider to make three podium finishes so that’s something to be pleased about and I’ve got to say a big thank you to all the lads in the team for all their hard work during the fortnight.”

Guy now has a four-week break before his next outing, which will again be on the Isle of Man, at the Southern 100 between July 13-16.

Phil Wain – Freelance PR
Picture by Glynne Lewis
For more information see HydrexHonda.com