Guy Martin: 'There are some events that I'm thinking of calling it a day on'

SPECULATION began yesterday over whether road racer Guy Martin would retire at the end of the 2015 season following comments he made in an interview with The Times.

Martin told the newspaper: 'I need to have a rest and re-set. My job is a truck mechanic and I’ve taken my eye off the ball. I get £12 an hour and double time on Saturday mornings. That’s good money up our way.

'The TV stuff has knackered my racing too. Not in results — last year’s TT was one of my best but I didn’t get five minutes. I used to go racing for fun. Now it’s hard work.

'I didn’t do the Gold Cup at Scarborough because there were big hoardings up saying pay extra and meet Guy. I can’t be doing with that. I’m not ungrateful, but this is my hobby.

'I didn’t miss the Gold Cup one bit. I know if I skip the TT I’ll never go back. I’ve given it everything. There’s no unfinished business. If people say, ‘Guy Martin — never won a TT’, I couldn’t give a s**t.'

However, in an update posted this morning on Guy Martin's official Facebook page, the 33-year-old said: 'There seem to be plenty of folk who are asking if I'm retiring from racing. There are some events that I'm thinking of calling it a day on.

'There's a lot of things I want to do and it's hard to fit everything in. But I love building and racing bikes and I'll always find some oddball events to have a go at.'

Martin did announce late last year that if Tyco had not split from Suzuki and not moved to a more competitive machine, which we now know is BMW Motorrad machinery, he probably wouldn't be racing this year.  

A TT win has so far eluded the Lincolnshire road racer, although he has achieved 18 podium finishes since 2004.

It's now clear he will take a step back from some events, but which events is not yet known.