A number of reports have emerged of TT star Guy Martin’s retirement from road racing, but this is in fact not the case.
As misleading headlines emerged, Martin was quick to quash the rumours that are circulating – he is not retiring from racing, he is retiring from Honda. He suffered a difficult TT on the Fireblade SP2, with a crash that visibly shook him to the core. He did enjoy success on the Mugen machinery in the TT Zero, and was insistent that he would ride with them again should the chance arise.
“So a lot of folk have been talking asking about racing and what I’m doing,” said Martin on his official Facebook page. “I went into the year right excited about the new Honda. I thought it would be great straight away and so did the team.
I soon realised that it needed a lot of developing and it will be great but it needs time and I’ve got loads of other projects going on, that Id rather use that time for. I didn’t get involved to develop a bike over months and years, I was told I’d have a bike capable of winning straight away and that’s why I couldn’t turn down the opportunity.”
Going on to talk about the 2017 Isle of Man TT, Martin said it as a disaster, saying he did not enjoy the experience, and because of the lack of competitiveness, he was withdrawn from the Ulster Grand Prix.
“TT was a bloody disaster, aside from walking the dog and racing the Mugen, I didn’t enjoy it. It was clear even before that we were going to struggle and then it turned into me really being a test rider, which I did but after we did more testing at Cadwell a few weeks back, I said to the team the bike won’t be competitive at the Ulster Grand Prix and they decided to withdraw me from the event, although they didn’t tell me, which is OK as the decision was made for me.”
But Martin is adamant that he will not retire from racing altogether. In the closing words of his statement, he talked of his future, which he says will contain motorcycles. He spoke of Pikes Peak, an annual automotive and motorcycle hillclimb to the summit of Pikes Peak in Colorado, USA.
“So I’ve not given up on racing or road racing, there’s no unfinished business and I want to race classics and oddball stuff. All I’ve been thinking about recently is Pikes Peak and any spare time my brain has had is about Pikes Peak on 4 wheels. That job is down to me and if it doesn’t work, it’s my fault and I like that.
“So there’s no bad feeling. Neil Tuxworth has been upfront with me from the start and it’s a shame for everyone that the new bike hasn’t worked. I know how much effort I put in and so do the team, so no regrets but I’ve got no plans to do anymore road racing on the Hondas this year.
“Nigel Racing Corporation (NRC) current plans are preparation for Pikes Peak and classic racing but the plans can change with the wind.
“Ta for the support. Guy”
