Tourist Trophy – TT 2017: Guy Martin joins John McGuinness at Honda! – Used HONDA

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TT 2017: Guy Martin joins John McGuinness at Honda !

Tourist Trophy - TT 2017: Guy Martin joins John McGuinness at Honda! - Used HONDA

The new Honda CBR1000RR SP2 Fireblade will be entrusted this season to two legendary riders: the current "King of the Moutain" John McGuinness, whose counter shows 23 victories in the Tourist Trophy, and Guy Martin, darling of the public who is chasing his first TT success…

Winner 23 times on the dangerous route of Snaeffel Mountain, John McGuinness is only three lengths from the absolute record of victories in, held by the late Joey Dunlop. This year again, the Morecambe missile will try to get closer to its illustrious predecessor at Honda….

Like Joey in fact, John swears by the winged mark, so that within the official road racing team, "he is part of the furniture", rejoices his boss Neil Tuxworth (read the statements of the team manager and of its pilots at the end of the article).

Tourist Trophy - TT 2017: Guy Martin joins John McGuinness at Honda! - Used HONDA

Next June (from 3 to 9 for races), McGuinness will have the pleasure – which has become too rare – to ride on a new machine: the, presented at the last Intermot show in Cologne (Germany) … and tested this week- end by Site on the Portimao circuit (Portugal): stay connected !

  • To be continued on MNC : first test of the Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade 2017

With this new ally, the man with 45 podiums in 18 participations in the "TiTi" (from 1996 to 2000, then from 2001 to 2016) has the firm intention of shining at the 2017 edition of the Tourist Trophy, not displease the organizers who had until now focused their promotion on !

Call of the Fireblade

In this carefully orchestrated battle of chefs, the current "King of the Moutain" could therefore play the referees despite his 44 years … or "thanks to" his 44 years, so much experience plays a preponderant role in this formidable motorcycle speed test ?

Tourist Trophy - TT 2017: Guy Martin joins John McGuinness at Honda! - Used HONDA

The is not the only novelty in 2017 for the Honda team: the signing of the "famous" Guy Martin is another at least as important … and much more surprising! Victim of a heavy fall in 2015 at Ulster GP, the English driver had decided during his convalescence to …

In 2016, "Gaïe Martine" had turned to other challenges, considering – more or less – rightly that cycling, TV show animation, speed record hunting (on salt lake or on a wall!) were much less risky activities than road racing.

The Guy Martin phenomenon

To illustrate the impressive popularity rating of Guy Martin, MNC has read the Facebook counters and notes that its official page has accumulated to date 1,122,277 "likes". His new team-mate John McGuinness, much more successful in the Tourist Trophy, totaled "only" 161,941. Michael Dunlop and Ian Hutchinson are still further, with respectively 57,422 and 15,372 "likes".

For comparison, Valentino Rossi himself is idolized by more than 13 million fans across the blue planet (Facebook), MotoGP world champion Marc Marquez is loved by just under 3.8 million … and the champion World Superbike Jonathan Rea is enjoyed by 420,379 people. Almost three times less than Guy !

But the quest for glory in the Tourist Trophy is akin to a hard drug: terribly intoxicating, bad for your health and very difficult to give up … It is even visibly impossible not to fall back when one of the best teams on the board – if not the best – brings you a new take on the most successful bike (23 wins, like McGuinness) !

Author of 15 TT podiums (in 12 participations from 2003 to 2015), Mister Martin has never been on the top step: he is counting on the new Honda Superbike to change that, even if it will not be easy to s ” impose against the formidable Dunlop and Hutchy.

Tourist Trophy - TT 2017: Guy Martin joins John McGuinness at Honda! - Used HONDA

Conversely, the Tokyo firm hopes to win in the company of the most "bankable" of road pilots: assured of selling quantities of t-shirts, caps and mugs whatever the result obtained by the "darling of the TiTi", Honda would see his Fireblade sales significantly improved upon victory, at least in Britain !

Before entering into the Tourist Trophy, the Honda team and its two legendary drivers will take part in the North West 200, another particularly spectacular road event, won six times by John McGuinness but not once by his new teammate Guy Martin. . Will 2017 be the year of the big comeback and the big firsts for Guy? To be continued, on Site: stay connected !

Statements from pilots and their boss

John McGuinness:
"I’m back with Honda for a new year. I’m really part of the family, and can’t wait to see what the new Fireblade SP2 is capable of! I know the old model like the back of my hand and got a lot of my TT wins with this brave girl so I can’t wait to hit the track and try out the new machine. I have a good feeling for this year and I think we have a really good batch that will allow us to be tough in I would like another TT win of course, and I would love to take back my lap record! I always say the guys who beat it borrow it from me and I hope they will this year. sad to say goodbye to the old Fireblade: I have a lot of stories and good memories with this bike. But I can’t wait to test the new one, and can’t wait for the season to start. I am excited about it. have Guy as my new teammate: we have fought many battles during years and I can’t wait to see what the two of us can do ".

Guy Martin:
“Neil [Tuxworth] had been talking to me about joining the team for a while, but I needed to think about it before I signed up and said yes. I spent a lot of time on my bike, thinking about my decision. didn‘t want to grow old regretting not having tried my luck on the Honda, and since I made my choice, the more time passes and the more I think I made the right decision. Honda is a great team and the Fireblade has always been a formidable weapon on the road, so I can’t wait to get started on the new bike. We have a busy schedule in terms of testing and I’ve put other things aside for that. John [McGuinness] is the benchmark, I have deep respect for him and I can’t wait to race against him on the Fireblade ".

Neil Tuxworth:
"We welcome two new members to the Honda Racing team this year with Guy signing and the arrival of the new 2017 Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade SP2. John is really part of the furniture, but it’s great to have him again with us for another year – it wouldn’t be the same without him! I really feel that with Guy and John, as well as the new Fireblade of course, we have a strong team ready to attack the roads this year. Guy is hungry for a win, this would be his TT debut, and John wants another and wants his record back. All of this mixed in with the new CBR1000RR means the action should be right around the corner. The new Fireblade SP2 is very important for the team and for Honda. It is vital to build on your 23-winning TT heritage. We are all looking forward to testing and I think everyone is excited to get back on track. track and put the new machine ".

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