Courtsey of Phil Wain-Freelance PR
Pics Alan Armstrong Photography
Guy Martin ended Saturday's Ulster Grand Prix in perfect style when he took victory in the 7-lap Superbike race, just rewards for his efforts during what was an extremely frenetic day. Having taken numerous leaderboard positions in the four previous races, the Hydrex Honda rider had to wait until the final race of the day to take the first step on the podium but he did just that to end the 2009 International road race season on a high note and give watching team boss Shaun Muir plenty of reasons to be cheerful.
The Ulster GP week opened with Thursday's Dundrod 150 Superbike race and having led into the sixth and final lap, Guy had to settle for third place, just 0.9seconds behind race winner Conor Cummins in what was the fastest race ever seen at the high-speed Dundrod circuit. On to Saturday and after heavy rain on Friday, the Superstock race got underway in damp conditions and although the track was drying all the time, Guy's dry tyres didn't quite come into their own until the second half of the race and he finished fourth.
The opening Supersport race was without doubt one of the best races ever at Dundrod as up to nine riders fought it out for the lead, smashing the lap record in the process. Although he dropped back to ninth at one stage, the gap to first was never more than 2.5 seconds and Guy eventually took 5th, having lapped at well over 126mph. The first Superbike race was another cracker and having led on the opening lap, Cummins pushed Guy back to second on lap 2. However, as the four leading riders, again nose to tail, went into their final lap, Guy was in front after a lap of 132.749mph but he was again denied on the run in to the line and got pushed back to third at the chequered flag.
The second Supersport race saw Guy's only DNF after he was forced out on the warm-up lap due to a holed radiator so the final Superbike race was his last chance of claiming a win. Third on the opening lap, the leading five riders were swapping positions all the time but on lap 4 Guy hit the front for the first time. Despite the extreme pressure he was under he managed to hold them all off on the seventh and final lap and he got the verdict over Gary Johnson on the dash to the line by 0.106seconds for his sixth UGP victory. Indeed, there were only 0.417 seconds between Guy, Johnson, Cummins and Ian Hutchinson.
Speaking later, a delighted Guy said, "I was beginning to think I was a bit doomed as it didn't seem to matter what I did I just couldn't get a win but it all came right in the last race and I'm so pleased that it did. Throughout the week the rest of the top boys had the edge on me from the hairpin to the start and finish and whilst I was quicker through the high-speed stuff, they pulled it all back through the short-circuit style section after the hairpin. I just couldn't get the big bike to turn quickly enough through the Flowbog Crossroads and Quarry Bends corners but we kept chipping away with the bike, making small, and subtle, changes here and there and it paid off for the final Superbike race."
"In the opening Superstock race, the brakes went on the first lap of the re-run and I nearly skittled Hutchy and Bruce Anstey at Ireland's but they came back as the race wore on and 4th was an ok start to the day. The first Supersport race could have been anyone's and although I was down in 9th at one stage, positions were changing all the time, and it almost went down to being at the right place at the right time - finishing 5th, one and half seconds off the win is pretty mad when you think about it! Every single race was incredibly close and hectic and it was really tough all day - everybody was on it, like jam on toast, and it has to be one of the most thrilling Ulster GP's ever. It's great to see the meeting have a good year with the weather and I've got to say a big thanks to Danny, Cammy and Shaun the Sheep for all their work during the week whilst I was really pleased to put a smile on the boss' face at the end of the day!"
