Is This Going To Be Guy Martin's Last Isle of Man TT?

There has been a lot of talk around Guy Martin’s 2015 Isle of Man TT bid, with several outlets speculating with various amounts of reliability as to whether this will be the charismatic rider’s last TT.

The latest publication to add fuel to the fire is Scunthorpe Telegraph, a local English paper, which quotes Martin in a Q&A session as saying, “I’ll go there whatever happens. Whatever I do I’ll give it 100%. If I go and finish 20th I still know I’ve done my best. It’s the last time I’m doing it.”

“Let’s be honest, it would be mint to win. It would be great, I love motorbikes,” Martin added. “But it is only motorbikes. Tomorrow is another day. I’ve this sort of mindset – it is what it is.”

At 33 years of age, Martin’s chances of winning a TT seem to diminish with each passing year, even more so now that Michael Dunlop has taken the next step forward with his racing, and could be set to dominate the field for a third year in a row.

For 2015, Martin is set to race on a factory-powered BMW S1000RR — the same race package that saw Dunlop sweep four out of five “solo” races last year. If there was ever going to be a year where Guy Martin could finally be a bride and not a bridesmaid, 2015 seems to be it.

This fact seems to be fueling the rumors around Martin’s departure, though the Lincolnshire man likely knows the reality as well. With a budding TV career ahead of him, the mercurial rider might finally embrace the spotlight, once he leaves racing.

It is of course uncertain if Martin will abide by his quoted word, and whether any of this news will affect his other road racing ambitions. It certainly will be a sad day when Martin leaves the TT paddock, though it might be even sadder if he does so without a TT winner’s trophy.