Motourage

Road racing veteran Guy Martin will make his debut for Relentless Suzuki by TAS Racing during the Easter weekend British Superbike Championship opener at Brands Hatch alongside Australian Josh Brookes, who will also be making his debut in Relentless Suzuki colors.

While this event will be the start of Brookes’ BSB campaign, Martin will use the saddle time to gain valuable experience on his GSX-R1000 Superbike prior to the two main events on his International Road Racing calendar: the Relentless International North West 200 in May and the Isle of Man TT Races in June.

Philip Neill, Team Manager:
“The later-than-normal start to the season has already provided Guy with some great opportunities to spend time on track familiarizing himself with our full range of GSX-R machinery that he will be using during our International Road Racing campaign. However, pairing Guy with Josh for the opening Superbike race at Brands Hatch is a perfect way for us to understand how Guy reacts to some set-up changes in a race situation.

“The considerable amount of track time available throughout the four days at Brands and competing against the best riders in British Championship will enable Guy to really bring himself up to speed on the Superbike; and although our goals are not necessarily results-based, I’m sure Guy will be setting himself some personal targets over the four days.

“I’d like to thank MSVR for accepting our application for a wild card entry to this event, as the opportunity really does allow Guy to remind everyone that he is a motorcycle racer, who can ride on circuits as well as he can on the roads. This opportunity should help him prepare for his debut season with us in the best possible way.”

Guy Martin:
“I’ve been to the moon and back testing which is fantastic as I have never enjoyed so much pre-season track time before. However, practice is all right but you can’t beat a bit of racing, so I’m really looking forward to the chance of getting back out on track at Brands Hatch – and to do this in the BSB class is just perfect.

“I’m already quite familiar with the GSX-R1000 Superbike however, but this gives us the opportunity to work on some finer detail set-up stuff, which will no doubt come in handy throughout the season.”

Relentless Suzuki by TAS Racing will head to Spain for the opening test of the year at Cartagena on March 3-6 with riders flying in from Northern Ireland, England and Australia.

Alastair Seeley, now in his third full season with the team, is no stranger to Relentless Suzuki’s pre-season testing program and Guy Martin is well settled after a pre-Christmas test on the team’s GSX-R1000 Superbike. Australian Josh Brookes, the team’s sole representative in this season’s British Superbike Championship, has been riding a ‘tricked-up’ GSX-R1000 in Australia, sent out to him by the team in November – letting him learn the characteristics of the Suzuki before he makes the long journey to Europe next week.

Josh Brookes:
“After riding different machinery for so long, I’m surprised just how quick the Suzuki felt so natural to me; I did feel at home on it straight away. Yes it is technically a street bike, but it gave me the chance to set up things like footrest and handlebar positioning before Spain. I’m more driven than I have ever been for a season – after a spending time at home doing different activities every day to keep myself focused – and I’ve never been so fit.

“I’m now looking forward to meeting all the guys in my new team and getting to know them before the season starts. I hear quite a few of them are into Mountain Biking and Motocross so that should be fun; we can have a laugh and hang out together.

“I’ll be in the Fox Sport TV studio this weekend in Sydney and I’m on the commentary team for the World Superbike races at Phillip Island, which gives me a chance to tell everyone what I’m doing this season and give them some information on the team before I leave for Spain on Monday.”

Philip Neill, Team Manager:
“I think everyone in the team is looking forward to getting stuck in this season, and it will be nice to have all the guys out in Spain together. Josh is pleased with what he’s achieved at home in Australia on the GSX-R1000. He had suspension and different bits and pieces sent out also, so it’s given him a base-setting and a head start before he jumps on the Superbike proper.”

Guy Martin had his first taste of Relentless Suzuki by TAS machinery at the Almeria Circuit in Spain when he tested the team’s GSX-R1000 Superbike this past weekend.  The newly signed Kirmington, England rider also took time out to ride the all-new GSX-R600 during Suzuki’s official launch at the same circuit and was suitably impressed.

Martin completed more than 80 laps of the Almeria circuit in near perfect conditions and was immediately blown away by the performance of the GSX-R1000 Superbike. The bike was run with the same specification that had been used at this year’s Ulster Grand Prix, as team manager Philip Neill wanted Martin to use it as a starting point.

Two different engine specifications and a number of new parts were taken to the test, and although the team opted to run the bike with limited electronic aids – to give Guy a feel for the engine – he still reported it was the best Superbike he’d ever ridden.

Philip Neill- Team Manager:
“This is a great start to our relationship with Guy and to be one step ahead of the rest with an early test in December demonstrates our commitment to the job in hand. He’s also the first rider to test the new 600, even though it was in road trim. We still have a lot of updates for the Superbike, which he will now try in February; things like a full Magneti Marelli package that will make the bike even better for him, so we are pretty excited at his feedback and already looking forward to getting started in 2011.”

Guy Martin:
“It’s mega to get out before Christmas with no pressure and no stop watches and just try different things – I mean who else is out there testing before Christmas? The last time I rode a GSX-R1000 was for a magazine test last year and I gave it a good write up, but the Relentless Superbike was just mega. I was more than impressed with it and the way the boys worked with me was equally as impressive. They knew exactly what I wanted and in less than a day the bike felt like it was mine – I would have been quite happy to race it. They tailored all the little things I like to suit me and the feel I got from the engine, suspension and chassis was fantastic.

“I also got the chance to ride the new little 600. The GSX-R600 was never a bad bike, but having lost a bit of weight and added more grunt, it’s not going be on the back foot now is it? I’m looking forward to running it in race trim in the New Year.”

Team manager Philip Neill with Guy Martin

Relentless by TAS Suzuki signs Guy Martin for 2011 International Road Racing campaign. The Kirmington, England rider has one of the biggest followings in British and Irish motorcycling, and team owners Hector and Philip Neill are confident of guiding the fast-talking rider to his debut victories at the North West 200 and Isle of Man TT.
Martin will join his yet-to-be-announced Road Racing and British Superbike teammates in pre-season tests in Spain, scheduled for February or March, before possibly opening his account with a British Superstock appearance at the end of April.

The plan is to take in a number of Superstock races throughout the 2011 season, but a full itinerary of his, and the rest of the team’s plans, will be announced in the coming weeks.

Guy Martin:
“You just don’t get any more of a proven team than Relentless by TAS Suzuki and with its official support from Suzuki and something like 15 TT wins; it wasn’t a difficult decision to make. I was at a Pirelli test earlier this year and took 101 pictures of their bikes and the preparation of them is ‘proper’ – that’s what made my mind up. They are the best team I’ve been with do date; that’s all there is to it. I just want to hit the ground running now. After pre-season we’ll hopefully do some Superstock races in the British Championship, as we know the GSX-R1000 is very capable. Let’s face it – it won the Championship just last year with Alastair Seeley on it. Yeah; it’s all proper and I’m looking forward to getting started.”

Philip Neill – Team Manager:
“It’s been a difficult decision changing our line-up as we pride ourselves on loyalty. In saying that, Guy is a rider I’ve wanted to work with for a couple of seasons now and my loyalty to other riders probably held that decision back a little. He came to us full of enthusiasm and wants to do things our way, which was a good starting point. And on top of that, I’m a sucker for a challenge and I like Guy’s free-spirit attitude. He’s created a Guy Martin-brand without even trying and that’s also pretty special.  Obviously we know he’s a very talented rider and has been extremely unlucky not to have won races at both the North West 200 and the TT. So our motivation is to complete that task, while making sure Guy also fulfils his commercial responsibility representing a manufacturer-backed team. Having spoken to him at length before we agreed a deal, I know he won’t let Suzuki or our sponsors down.”