Disappointing season opener for Guy Martin

Real road racing
By Phil Wain
May 3 2006

Guy Martin’s 2006 campaign got off to a disappointing start on Bank Holiday Monday, with only a fourth and an eighth place to show for his efforts.

Riding the AIM Racing Yamaha R1 Superstock machine for the first time, the Lincolnshire rider dominated his heat race and was well placed in the opening leg of the Ian Watson Superbike race, only for a last lap spill to dent his charge.

The 24-year old led the shortened six-lap race in the early stages, before allowing Ian Lougher to overhaul him, and the duo then had a cat and mouse dice for the remaining three laps. Content to sit behind his arch rival, Guy made his move on the final lap at Mountside Corner, but left his braking a fraction too late and lost the front end of the machine. Lougher had to take evasive action, but whilst he got through unscathed and made his way to the chequered flag, Guy struggled to re-start the R1 - and by the time he got going, both David Bell and Richard Gibson had swept by and he eventually crossed the line in fourth place.

With tricky conditions throughout the day, Guy opted for full wet tyres in the second leg and, although he was lying in second for the first part of the race, he was struggling for grip and powerless to prevent Lougher from pulling away. His misery was further compounded when the gear lever broke and, having dropped back to fifth, he pulled in at the Memorial. However, he was able to get going again - but with the machine stuck in fourth gear, he limped home in a lowly eighth place.

Speaking at the end of a frustrating day, Guy commented:
“Obviously I’m disappointed not to have retained the Ian Watson Trophy, and the results were definitely not what I wanted. I was determined to win the first leg and, after Ian passed me, I thought I’d sit behind him and get him on the last lap - but I was a bit too late on the brakes going into the hairpin and down I went. I banged my knee a little bit but jumped straight back on, and once I got the bike re-started I was able to take fourth.

“We were all running full wets in the second leg, but I was struggling for grip all the way around, and the tyres were spinning up everywhere. I hung on as best I could, but then the gear lever broke and that was that. It’s not an ideal way to start the year, but we’re learning all the time with the bikes and it’s nice to be back out racing again. It’s better to have problems like this here, so that we can address them and be fully prepared for the International events which start shortly. I’m looking ahead now to my first outing on the Superbike at the Tandragee races next weekend, so let’s hope for some good weather and some good results.”

The Tandragee 100 road races take place in just a few days’ time, on Saturday 6th May, with the International North West 200 getting underway on the following Tuesday.