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Isle of Man TT Star Guy Martin Rejects Fame, Plans to Retire

Modern society works in mysterious ways, and we get to see this happening more and more often these days. The last piece of news which may seem a bit puzzling to many people sees Isle of Man TT star Guy Martin openly speaking about hanging his leathers and seeing to his former life as a truck mechanic. That is, an “I’ve had enough of this fame thing” reply.
Guy Martin 1 photo
Photo: tweakuk.com
One of the most charismatic riders around the Snaefell Mountain, Guy Martin’s life may seem like the dream come true. He’s doing pretty well on two wheels and is a fairly successful bike racer, has published a book which sold in some 250,000 copies, and has also starred in no less than 5 prime-time TV shows. But guess what? He prefers his old life, when racing bikes was only made for fun, and his time spent fixing lorries. To some this may be a reality that is hard to acknowledge, but this doesn’t make it any less a reality.

“I need to have a rest and re-set. My job is a truck mechanic.”

These are the very words of Guy Martin. He openly spoke about his plans to retire with Rick Broadbent of UK’s The Times, and he’s dead serious. “I need to have a rest and re-set. My job is a truck mechanic and I’ve taken my eye off the ball. The TV stuff has knackered my racing too. Not in results – last year’s TT was one of my best – but I didn’t get five minutes. I used to go racing for fun. Now it’s hard work,” Martin concludes.

With seven runner-up positions and eight third-best times around the Mountain Course, 33-year-old Martin has had his fair share of 200 mph (320 km/h) in-the-city fun. He still has to win a single race at the Snaefell, but this could only make his racing days even more glorious. His decision appears to have been already made, meaning that Martin plans to part with racing after this year. “I’m not trying to be anything. I never chased the money,” he adds.

Certain rumors have circulated before, as he was eyeing this move last year as well, but only accepted to ride one more year with his long-standing partners Tyco TAS Racing Team after learning that they are replacing the Suzuki machinery with the BMW S1000RR. The S1000RR was ridden to a fabulous three-out-of-four win streak by Michael Dunlop, brother to Martin’s 2015 team mate William.

Whether the BMW S1000RR, which was proven as an exceptional machine will help Guy Martin put a glorious end to his racing career with a TT victory, we’ll certainly find out in June. Until then, keep an eye on us for more TT news. We can really expect great things form a guy who says: "I don’t mind the dying, but not if I don’t know why I’m doing it any more."
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