2011 Isle of Man TT
One of the fan’s favorite for the 2011 Isle of Man TT, Guy Martin, was forced to retire on lap 5 of Saturday’s Dainese 6-Lap Superbike TT.
The reason? Martin lost battery charge on his Relentless Suzuki GSX-R1000. And he was in contention for his first possible Isle of Man TT win Saturday before breaking retiring at Hillberry on the penultimate lap.
After a quick gas stop at the end of lap two, Martin moved into third. And on the next IOMTT lap, he was second behind eventual IOMTT Dainese Superbike-race winner John McGuinness (Honda TT Legends CBR1000RR).
Suzuki says on the completion of lap 4, again pitting for fuel, Martin had consolidated second place ahead of fellow Lincolnshire rider Gary Johnson with a lap of 129.767mph. It was then a case of "wait and see" with IOMTT winner McGuinness holding a 29 second lead over Guy Martin. But unfortunately on the drop down the Mountain at the end of lap five his IOMTT Suzuki Superbike lost power and he eventually retired between Hillberry and Signpost Corner.
But the team won’t give up; they are currently prepping for the IOMTT 4-lap Supersport and Superstock races on Monday.
Guy Martin (Relentless Suzuki GSX-R1000 IOMTT) says: "That was a disappointing end to what looked like a certain second place, but that’s the TT boy, it can jump up and bite you. We got off to a great start and were well within striking distance of John on that opening lap. From there I just kept it steady and felt pretty comfortable. After the second stop I knew John was going to be near impossible to catch, but you ‘gotta keep trying – and we were well in control in second place.
"As you probably saw by the TV footage, I was looking around the dash frantically trying to see what had gone wrong and when I got to Keppel Gate I knew the job was… well you know the rest. It’s time to re-group and get the head in gear for Monday where we get two more chances. And we’re well up for it… well up for it."
Philip Neill (Relentless Suzuki IOMTT Team Manager) says: "After all the hard work from everyone in our team, including Guy I might add, it’s extremely disappointing to lose out on a certain second position in the Superbike TT race. It’s somewhat ironic that following on from a 100% successful testing schedule and early race programme – where we did not encounter any mechanical gremlins at all with Guy’s machines – we suffer a very uncharacteristic generator failure in one of the biggest races of the season. But that’s the IOMTT I suppose.
"I’m not sure if Guy Martin could have made any significant impact on John McGuinness during that final lap, however with second position looking very safe and a lap time of 130.3mph under his belt, Guy Martin can remain very optimistic about his chances in the remaining TT races.
"It’s great to see so many spectators on the Island, so hopefully we can give all those Guy Martin fans something to cheer about before too long. Thanks to all our sponsors and to those who are supporting Guy this week at the IOMTT."