L’UOMO che sconfisse la MORT£ 2 volte! ☠️ – GUY MARTIN

Il pilota più amato e discusso del panorama delle road races, il mitico Guy Martin.
Tutta la sua storia e molti aneddoti che non sicuramente non conoscete, il pilota che sconfisse la signora in nero per ben 2 volte.
#guymartin #roadrace #ttisleofman

Autore: Stefano Di zenobio
Video: Luca Salvadori

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Today, I want to tell you the story of a road racing icon. Perhaps, the most loved rider, despite his non-victories. Yes, I’m referring to Guy Martin. I already talked about him in the video on Crighton. It was a much appreciated video. So, why can’t I further explain his story? He’s a rider who never won. However, he took the podium of road racing premier class 17 times. The Tourist Trophy, usually called the Isle of Man, from the name of the place where these races are carried out. I make these videos to get you into the mood of road races, since this year I’ll start racing there too, at national and international level. On Instagram, I already spoiled a few things. Shortly, when everything will be super confirmed, I’ll tell you more. Guy was pure talent. Fast and smart. A humble person: he started out as a mechanic, who prepared the bike himself, at the beginning. A small but important detail that you will find out is that throughout his career he was accompanied by an annoying thing. That is, bad luck. Like every good story, let’s start from the beginning. While I’m rewinding the tape, I remind you that the best way to support me, free of charge, is to subscribe to the channel. Click on the ‘subscribe’ button below. Fast and easy. Martin was born on the 4th of November, 1981, in Grimsby, Lincolnshire, England. His father, Ian Martin, was no stranger to the racing world. He was a successful rider and he raced as privateer in TT. At some point, as we know from other riders’ story, for budgetary issues, he’s forced to get a job as a mechanic, for motorbikes and trucks, so that he could support his passion. Martin has two sisters and a brother, the latter being himself a motorbike rider and a truck mechanic. What a family! His younger sister, Kate, became the first female mechanic in the British Superbike’s paddock. The four siblings always go to watch their father riding in TT, the Isle of Man. However, this family tradition is interrupted in 1988. At Oliver’s Mount, Ian has indeed a serious accident. After his recovery, though very difficult, he decides not to race anymore, and to focus on his life as a mechanic. Sometimes, he also rides in track races. It’s a disease. It’s hard to get completely out of it. Martin is immediately interested in mechanics, inspired by his father, for sure. After school’s over, he starts his university career studying engineering. After a short time, however, he realizes something: studying like crazy to earn nothing is not exactly great. So, he decides to leave his studies so that he can practice more. He ends up in a Volvo workshop fixing trucks, and learns as much as possible on the field. In the meantime, he starts working with his father to gain more experience. I guess the question you’re thinking about is right. What does a truck mechanic have to do with motorbikes? In order to put his hands on those motorbikes, the ones Guy had spotted, racing motorbikes, he had to gain experience first. Thanks to his job as a truck mechanic, he started to fix his friends’ bikes. His friends’ bikes? Yes, those friends who usually road raced. I’m not talking about closed roads. I’m referring to open public road racing. Little by little, with some connections, Guy manages to enter the Isle of Man paddock. In his little spare time, between working as a mechanic or in his father’s workshop, and other odd jobs, Martin starts to road race sporadically. At 18 years old, everything changes: he crashes in a public road. Think about how mature Guy Martin was, at 18 years old. Better not to think about that. So, he wisely decides to start road racing. Exactly. Before that, he raced with his friends in open public roads. Not very lawful, let’s say. So he decides to "settle down", and race in legal competitions. Yeah, you got it. After having a motorbike accident, most people would be reluctant to the idea of getting back on the bike. Not him. Instead of moving to track racing, which is also dangerous, he decides to go even further with road racing. A hero. So, what can he do, as an aspiring road racing rider? He moves to the homeland of road races: Northern Ireland. It’s the country that hosts some of the most famous road races: North West 200, Ulster GP, Cookstown, etc. Personally, since I recently became interested in road races, I started consuming videos on Northern Ireland road races. You have no idea how much adrenaline they transmit. Four riders at full throttle at 320 km/h, with four superbikes, in the middle of country roads, while the others- Guys, it’s pure madness. In these races, Guy Martin starts his career. Something easy, uh? Well, Guy had a dream: to win at TT. An endeavor that his father Ian also failed. In 2004, he signs up at TT for the first time, with Uel Duncan Racing Team. Everybody can immediately tell he’s very fast. In his first two seasons, he conquers the first podium in the TT Senior Class. It’s the premier class, where multiple winning riders race with amazing superbikes. The same year, he wins the international Gold Cup, and another important race in Ireland. In 2006, he tries to go a little further. He changes the team and joins AIM Yamaha racing team, replacing… John McGuinness. Holy monster of the class. The holy monster. Final boss. For whoever played Mario Bros, he’s the Bowser of road races. You know, you get there and have to take the princess. Against him, there is a 6-foot-tall Italian plumber with a mustache. He has to take down this monster- Well, us millennials played that. In short, John McGuinness was the boss to take down. Anyway, Guy doesn’t give up. He starts off fast. Remember what I said at the beginning? Bad luck. Because of some problems, he finishes the race in fourth place. Being unsatisfied with TT, he decides to race in Ulster Grand Prix, where he wins four races. Clearly, people start talking about him in the paddock. In 2007, he decides to change the motorbike and to race for Hydrex Honda for the season. It seems the right year, for Martin. He conquers two second places and a third place. While he’s at his best, in Supersport, very close to victory, something occurs… Something a rider hopes will never happen. He runs out of gas, five km from the refueling point. A disaster. For the rest of the season, he still participates in the other races, and he wins everything a rider can win. 2008 arrives. It seems to be the year of the turning point. However, his bad luck strikes once again. He’s leading the race not with five, not with ten seconds, but with 11 seconds of advantage, in the TT Superbike class. Because of a mechanical failure, he has to withdraw. A disaster once again. His dream fades away. Perhaps that year is the year he comes closest to that title that slipped away so many times. Anyway, not all evil comes to harm. His name is on everyone’s lips. Apart from TT, he breaks every record in every possible race, in Ireland. He wins the International Gold Cup for the sixth time in a row. A record, at the time. In 2009… Team that doesn’t win changes. So, he joins Wilson Craig Honda. Some of you might remember it. The bike had a livery in red, silver and yellow. The good old times. It’s written: this is the year of redemption. The year when he finally fulfills his dream of winning TT, after years of disappointments due to mechanical issues as well. It’s what pisses off a rider the most. When it’s the rider’s fault, that’s okay, it happens. But those things… You don’t even think it can happen. You run out of fuel, tires don’t run well, pigeons… It drives you crazy. Anyway, the most awaited event of the year begins. Martin is ready to try once again. He starts very well: he’s third in Superbike, and second in Superstock and Supersport. Once again, however, bad luck strikes. He’s about to win in Supersport, in Race 2, but the engine stops working. As you know, TT is very hard, both for riders and motorbikes. Bikes have to be ridden for 60 km of track, or better road, and they’re always at full throttle. Sometimes, unfortunately, engines yield. It’s not that unusual. In keeping with tradition, after the disappointment of TT, Martin goes back to Norhtern Ireland and wins everything again. He’s very fast, and people know it. But he’s interested in one thing only: winning what it seems a cursed race. TT. 2010 is a controversial year. He doesn’t start off well. since he gets a 30 second penalty. You may wonder what he did to get that. He ran in the pitlane 0.112 km/h faster than allowed. Without that penalty, he could’ve fought for victory with Ian Hutchinson. That year, Ian Hutchinson won every race, five out of five. He was unbeatable. While I was starting with YouTube videos, in 2017-2018, I met him in Almeria and ran with him for three or four laps. It was awesome. I still have goosebumps thinking about it. I’ll give you the link in the description below. In Senior class, back to that season, Martin is… at his limit. He’s pushing with everything he has, and maybe even more. In road racing, one has to have a 10% margin. Probably, in order to run after that obsession of his, Martin was not pushing at 95 or 99%, but at 101%. He’s second, behind Hutchinson. The bike moves, shakes, and he doesn’t even pay attention to the jumps. He seems possessed. He’s exaggerating. When entering Ballagarey’s turn, which is one of the fastest points of the circuit, he’s riding at 270 km/h with two stone walls at his sides. He loses control of the bike and crashes. He and his bike crash into the stone wall. The motorbike catches fire and organisers are forced to stop the race. Because of the accident, there are oils, fuel and fire on the road. They also have to establish how’s Martin doing. His recovery after the crash is considered a true miracle. According to the experts, if you fall there, you die. However, Guy has a tough hide. He suffers back fractures and a severe contusion to a lung. It’s not bad. If I were in that position again, I’d do exactly the same. Exactly the same again. I’ll be back. You’re just making me work for it, innit? After risking his life, he’s also criticized. English rider Simon Buckmaster, who raced 50 GPs over the ’80s-’90s, heavily criticizes Martin, claiming that going on like this would end badly. For him, Guy had to focus more on his training and races, and less on TV and the media. In that period, Martin was indeed very famous on TV. He participated in movies and tv programs. If you know whom I’m talking about, you understand that he didn’t do it on purpose. He was simply a crazy guy, who couldn’t be ignored by media. TV and media look for that kind of people, and that kind of charisma. Truth is, it’s something that came by chance. It wasn’t made on purpose. Anyway, Guy was super loved. Besides some hater, who always tried to annoy him, he wasn’t really affected. On the contrary: the whole situation made people talk about him making him even more famous. In 2010, Martin changes team for the last time joining TAS Racing. First, with Suzuki. Then, five years later, with BMW. It’s the first time the English rider finds himself with a factory team. TAS Racing is the best team for road racing indeed. At the time, they worked in BSB too. Well, at the time and today too. In any case, Guy also had to help, up to that moment. He had to change tires and get his hands dirty. Instead, with that team he was a true rider. He only had to ride the bike, go at full throttle and win. In 2011, Martin wins Ulster Grand Prix, whereas in TT he conquers three third places and one second place. He’s fast, but that damned victory doesn’t come for him. In that year, he signs up for all possible races, to train himself to fulfill his dream of winning TT. In no time, the most awaited moment of the year comes. For the umpteenth time, he’s at the Isle of Man. He wants to win, at least once. Who cares: Superbike, Supersport… He wants that victory. During the Superbike race, he’s behind John McGuinness and Cameron Donald. Two little names, right? Once again, bad luck seems to never want to abandon the rider. During the last pit stop, because of a technical issue, the team fails to change the rear tire. It doesn’t matter to him. He goes back with a worn out tire. Because of a lower grip, inevitably, he loses one position. He manages to keep up and finishes fourth. He raced the last lap with a worn out tire, basically. All other riders had changed that, instead. This is highly inadvisable, due to the risk of tire dechappage. Tires are subjected to very high rates of wear and tear. Dechappage is the abnormal detachment of the compound from the rubber body. Sorry for the simplification, but I didn’t know how to explain it. Back to our "lame" rider. In 2013-2014, he tries again. But he only takes some podiums. I mean, let me be clear: taking a podium at the Isle of Man would be a dream coming true, for many. For him… It’s not enough. It was his obsession. 2015 season starts. Guy is now a star both on and off track. He’s an icon for road racing. Many other riders have entered the Olympus, by winning races and performing their best like Ian Hutchinson or John McGuinness. He hasn’t won anything yet. But he’s one of the most loved, idolized, interviewed riders. Look at this scene from the movie "Closer to the edge". If you haven’t watched it yet, do so. I had goosebumps the whole time. In the back of the van… a bit of wanking and go to sleep. You know, proper. Proper. Anyway, after North West 200, where he can’t put together noteworthy results, it’s time for him to try again. However, ’cause of the crashes or ’cause he begins to lose interest in it… his performance is not what it used to be. You guessed it right. This will not be his year either. He only gets a third place in this edition in the Supersport class. In Senior class, though, he signs his record of average speed: a bit more than 213 km/h. Nowadays, in 2023, the record’s 219 km/h. Crazy. Anyway, it’s not enough. He’s two seconds away from the winner. Guess who? Yeah. John McGuinness. In that year, he finishes with his best ride ever. During that year, Guy also participates in Irish races. On that occasion, he crashes for the second and almost fatal time. This is the incident that probably makes him see reason and makes him dwell on the chance to still have a normal life. He participates in TT once again, in 2017, but then retires. Quoting his words, after many years of racing, he was used to it and got bored. After those many years chasing that obsession, that dream, he realized he probably would have never fulfilled it. As said, there was no longer any point in continuing to tempt fate, which, in spite of everything, in bad times had graced him. Besides resilience, this story teaches us that you don’t have to win, to be loved by people: you have to prove you’re willing to do anything for that dream. Even die for it. This was the story of Guy Martin, rider of the people.