After posting the second fastest Superbike lap time of 129.333mph this week on his Relentless Suzuki by TAS GSX-R1000, Guy Martin has declared himself fit, healthy and ready to race, despite missing last night's practice session along with the rest of the 2011 TT solo competitors.
A road traffic accident followed by an oil slick dumped by a sidecar forced the session to be abandoned. Tonight (Friday) will be the final practice available to solo competitors before tomorrow's six-lap Superbike TT. The action gets underway at 12pm.
"We've had a steady-away practice week and as I've told quite a few people already, the racing starts on Saturday, so there's no need to hang them out in practice," Martin said. "It's a matter of getting everything the way we want for racing and the big GSX-R1000 Superbike is ready to race. I've enjoyed this week getting back out on the TT Circuit and I feel comfortable and confident on the TAS Racing bikes; everyone is doing their job and we're happy, so let's hope it all comes together on Saturday."
Making his TT debut with the Relentless Suzuki by TAS team is former Suzuki Endurance Racing Team member and Le Mans 24-Hour winner Guillaume Dietrich. The German-born "Newcomer" set a speed and time of 102.187mph/ 22:09.21sec.
Team Manager Philip Neill said, "Although it is still very early days, it really is pleasing to get off to a good start. Guy has now completed four laps on the Superbike - two on the Superstock and two on the Supersport bike. He has declared himself happy with each of his GSX-R machines after taking the second fastest time of the week at 129.333mph. He even declared the Superbike ready to race already, although we will continue to make some very minor tweaks to help make his job that little bit easier.
"Guillaume is steadily finding his way around the TT Circuit and is enjoying the experience, although he did have a minor mishap on his first lap earlier in the week. We are obviously not concerned with his lap times at this point. It is very important that he feels completely comfortable before building up speed.
"As I say, so far so good; let's hope it continues this way and we have some luck on our side this year!"
Guy Martin's Lap Times to date:
Superbike - 129.333mph/ 17:30.22sec.
Superstock - 125.720mph/ 18:00.40sec.
Supersport - 123.182mph/ 18:22.66sec.
Guillaume Dietrich's best lap to date as a Newcomer: 102.187mph/ 22:09.21sec.
