Guy Martin
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Martin at the 2014 Bol d'Or
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| Nationality | British | ||||||||||
| Born |
4 November 1981 Kirmington, Lincolnshire, England |
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| Current team | Honda | ||||||||||
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Guy Martin (born 4 November 1981) is a British lorry-mechanic better known publicly as a motorcycle racer and television personality.
Martin started racing in 1998, debuting on road circuits at the Isle of Man TT events in 2004, where he gained 15 podium finishes. He has broken his back twice in racing accidents, in the 2010 TT and the August, 2015 Ulster Grand Prix.
After an absence from motorcycle racing in 2016, Martin confirmed in January 2017 that he had signed for Lincolnshire-based Honda Racing as partner to 23-times TT winner John McGuinness for the North West 200, Isle of Man TT and Southern 100 races. He also competes in mountain bike pedal-cycle races.
Martin starred in Closer to the Edge, a 2011 documentary on TT racing. He has since presented programmes on various engineering topics and the Channel 4 series Speed with Guy Martin when he set speed records in a variety of human and engine powered vehicles. He has authored three books.
His first job after leaving school was as a heavy vehicle mechanic, which he retained since, being unwilling to give it up for full-time racing and media.
Martin was born on 4 November 1981 in a suburb of Grimsby, Lincolnshire, England. He was named Guy in tribute to Guy Gibson of No. 617 Squadron RAF. His father Ian was a successful privateer motorbike racer who had competed in several Isle of Man TT events, but he was forced to supplement his income with a job as a lorry mechanic, additionally selling bikes. His mother, Rita Kidals, was of Latvian heritage, her father having come to Britain in 1947 as a political refugee. Soon after his birth, the family moved to a house outside the town, where they remained, having four children in total. Martin had shown an interest in working on trucks as early as age 12. As a child he was fascinated by engines, and would take apart lawnmowers to try to make them go faster. Although his interest matched his father's trade, he was happy for Guy to do his own thing, and indeed would try to stop him "talking the whole time about engines" during family holidays to Butlins.
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