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Guy Martin and John McGuinness will be wearing Honda colours in the TT. The two riders will ride in the Isle of Man race and the North West 200 astride the new CBR1000RR SP2. For Guy this is a return to racing after a year-long sabbatical and he will be doing it in the best possible way. Martin is one of the two riders with the biggest following in road racing, although he has never won the TT, even if he has finished 15 times on the podium. It is a different story for McGuinness who, on the other hand, is a legend at the Isle of Man with his 23 wins.
The CBR SP2 that they will have available to them is a derivative of the street version, naturally with a few modifications to increase performance even more and it will make its road racing début in May at the North West 200.
“Neil [Tuxworth, team manager] has been talking to me for a while about joining the team, but I had a lot of thinking to do before I committed and said yes - Martin explained - I didn’t want to grow old regretting not giving the Honda a go, and the more time passes since making the decision, the more time I’ve thought it is the right decision. We’ve got a busy testing schedule coming up. John [McGuinness] is the man, I’ve got massive respect for him and I’m looking forward to racing on the Fireblade against him.”
McGuinness added: “With Honda I feel like I’m really part of the family, and I can’t wait to see what the new Fireblade SP2 can do! I know the old model like the back of my hand and have taken a lot of my TT wins with the old girl, so I can’t wait to get out on track and try the new machine out. I of course would like another TT win and I would quite like my lap record back! I am sad to say bye to the old Fireblade; I have a lot of history and good memories with that bike, but testing the new model can’t come soon enough. I’m excited to have Guy as my new team-mate; we’ve enjoyed many a racing battle over the years and I’m looking forward to seeing what we can both do.”
