Guy Martin took his third podium of TT 2011 for Relentless Suzuki by TAS Racing with a fine third place in today’s second Supersport race on the Isle of Man, but the race was tainted with controversy. Martin was well within striking distance of a podium finish for the duration of the four lap battle, but red flags incorrectly displayed at Ramsey and Union Mills, put a question mark over the credibility of today’s Supersport race.
At the end of lap one Guy was just over a second down on John McGuinness in third place with fellow Pirelli runner Gary Johnson at the head of proceedings, a further ten seconds in front of McGuinness. Pitting for fuel at the end of lap two Guy was less than five seconds down on second place, but the red flag incident on lap three at Union Mills certainly hampered his progress and upset his rhythm, so a podium finish - his twelfth at the TT - was a brave effort in the circumstances.
Guy Martin
“I’m happy to get another podium for the team and our sponsors but what happened out there is just not right. They need to get the job sorted. I saw the red flag at Union Mills and backed off for about three miles, so I lost a lot of time but it’ll all come out in the wash. It’s another consistent result and a good one for the new GSX-R600. We can now look forward to the Senior tomorrow where a good result would cap a decent TT.”
Philip Neill – Team Manager
“It was another solid day for us and as I’ve said already this week, you can’t come to the TT nowadays and expect to win. You can only do the best possible job and put yourself in with a podium chance and we’ve done that again today; it’s another great result for the all-new GSX-R600. For that I must give credit to Guy and our whole team. The bike never missed a beat and the Pirelli tyres were exceptional and this result sets Guy up well for the Senior TT tomorrow.
“The third place is a little tainted in Guy’s eyes because of what happened with the red flags being displayed when they shouldn’t have. It’s been reported to the officials and we have been assured it will be handled in the best possible manner.”
Supersport Race 2 Result
1st – Gary Johnson [Honda] 1hr 13.07.95sec
2nd – John McGuinness [Honda] 1hr 13.16.35sec
3rd – Guy Martin [Relentless Suzuki by TAS Racing] 1hr 13.29.28sec
4th – Keith Amor [Honda] 1hr 13.37.67sec
5th – Bruce Anstey [Honda] 1hr 13.43.85sec
6th – Conor Cummins [Kawasaki] 1hr 15.24.68sec
