Martin creates Gold Cup history with sixth successive win
Guy Martin created history on Sunday when he won the International Steve Henshaw Gold Cup for a record-breaking 6th time, the first rider ever to achieve such a feat. Riding the Hydrex Bike Animal Honda around the Oliver’s Mount race circuit in Scarborough, Guy dominated proceedings to win by over 13 seconds, claiming the outright lap record along the way, whilst he also won both Superbike races to crown a highly successful weekend.
Saturday’s races were held in dry, sunny conditions and Guy opened his account around the 2.43-mile public road circuit with a start to finish victory in the 8-lap Superbike race, coming home 11.6 seconds clear of his nearest rival Ryan Farquhar. Later in the day, he took a hard fought 3rd place in the opening leg of the 600cc David Jefferies Trophy.
The weather on Sunday was slightly cooler with overcast conditions and normal service was resumed when Guy took another dominant win in the second Superbike race. Third in the opening stages, Guy overhauled Ian Hutchinson and Ryan Farquhar in successive laps and, with a new lap record, he romped home to take the chequered flag by 10.1 seconds, earning himself the Darran Lindsay Memorial Trophy. The 600cc race was again a different proposition but, with a new lap record of 1m47.230s, he was able to finish in 4th place, only 1.4 seconds off the race win.
The 12-lap feature race was last on the agenda for Guy and he didn’t disappoint his legion of fans, putting in a faultless performance. Never headed in the race, Guy put in a series of fast laps to pull clear and he took his 6th successive title by a commanding 13 seconds. He also set a new outright lap record of 1m45.332s to become the first man ever to lap Oliver’s Mount at more than 83mph, his new speed being 83.052mph.
Speaking afterwards, a delighted Guy said:
“I always enjoy racing at Scarborough and this weekend has been no exception. It was where I made my first ever road race appearance in 2002 so it’s always been special and to win 6 Gold Cups in a row is brilliant and a real honour. When you look at all the names on there, it makes me realise what an achievement it is so I’m chuffed to bits but if someone had said that to me all those years ago that I’d win 6, I would have told them to wash their mouth out!”
“The Superbike never missed a beat all weekend and to get 3 wins and the outright lap record was brilliant. The team put in a big effort so it was nice to repay them and we’ve really enjoyed our racing this weekend, which is what it’s all about. We were able to get out on Saturday night, have a couple of beers and generally chill out, and everyone in the team’s been in high spirits. There’s been some top teamwork this weekend and I’m really happy with how the weekend has gone.”
It’s back to British Superbike Championship duty next for Guy and he makes his way to Silverstone, Northamptonshire for the next round of the series, with the meeting taking place from 26-28 September.
From Phil Wain, Freelance PR
To read more of Phil’s excellent reports, from all this year’s events, click schedule at the top of the page.