2011 Isle of Man TT
Although fan-favorite Guy Martin was forced to retire Saturday from the Dainese Superbike race due to battery issues, the Lincolnshire pilot took podiums Monday in both IOMTT Supersport and Superstock races.
The Relentless Suzuki rider fought hard to take two third places in Monday’s racing, bringing Martin closer and closer to his first Isle of Man TT win.
During the Supersport 1 IOMTT race, which was red-flagged and subsequently shortened to three laps due to the fatal crash at Gorse Lea involving Derek Brein, Martin piloted the GSX-R 600 to its second International Road Racing podium of the season, the first arriving at the North West 200 with Alastair Seeley.
The Royal London 360 Superstock IOMTT race was tight, with the top five riders only separated by three seconds after lap one. Towards the later stages of the IOMTT Superstock race, Guy Martin was in a heated battle with winner Michael Dunlop (Street Sweep Kawasaki IOMTT) and second-place finisher John McGuinness (Honda TT Legends).
Guy Martin (Relentless Suzuki IOMTT) says: "I couldn’t have taken the little 600 round there any faster today. When Cameron blew up in front of me I thought it was going to end in tears for both of us. I hit the curb trying to get round him, but a IOMTT podium is a good effort for us. We’ll change a few things and see what we can do on Wednesday.
"In the Superstock IOMTT race the early grip and stability was great and the bike was just mega. The whole job was coming easy enough and I wasn’t having to hang it out anywhere and I wasn’t bouncing off any kerbs! I started to struggle a little bit in the latter stages with grip and stability – what you’d expect I suppose – so I was just glad to get it home on the podium. It’s not a shabby job at all. I haven’t won one yet but it’ll come. This is a proper team effort and all the Relentless Suzuki by TAS boys are a great bunch of lads."
Philip Neill (Relentless Suzuki IOMTT Team Manager) says: "It’s been a long day obviously tainted with sadness, which is always the case when a competitor loses his life – so our thoughts and prayers are with Derek Brien’s family at this time.
"Two podiums is a strong day for us. Yes we are here to win but overall you’ve got to be happy with podiums at the IOMTT. All you can do is make your package competitive enough for a podium finish; after that it’s really down to the circumstances of the race."
Martin will be back on the track tomorrow for the second Supersport race, and then on Friday for the Senior TT.
2011 Isle of Man TT Supersport Race 1 Results:
1 – Bruce Anstey [Honda] 54mins 40.01- 124.232mph
2 – Keith Amor [Honda] 54mins 48.40 -123.916mph
3 – Guy Martin [Relentless Suzuki] 54mins 56.06 – 123.628mph
4 – Gary Johnson [Honda] 54mins 57.24 – 123.584mph
5 – John McGuinness [Honda] 54mins 58.45 – 123.538mph
6 – Dan Kneen [Yamaha] 55mins 15.52 – 122.902mph
2011 Isle of Man TT Superstock Results:
1 – Michael Dunlop [Kawasaki] 1hr 11mins 13.69 – 127.129mph
2 – John McGuinness [Honda] 1hr 11mins 32.32 – 126.578mph
3 – Guy Martin [Relentless Suzuki] 1hr 11mins 36.59 – 126.452mph
4 – Keith Amor [Honda] 1hr 11mins 44.79 – 126.211mph
5 – William Dunlop [Honda] 1hr 12mins 16.10 – 125.300mph
6 – Cameron Donald [Honda] 1hr 12mins 16.58 – 125.286mph
