For the second year in a row, Triumph has been forced to suspend its effort for a new land speed record after its pilot, Guy Martin, was injured during the Ulster GP Superbike race on Thursday, August 6. Triumph was to compete at the Bonneville Salt Flats speed trials on August 24-27, but Martin’s accident and subsequent operation mean that he will not be fit in time for vital tests before the official event.
Guy Martinis one tough rider. On Thursday he highsided his Tyco BMW S1000RR at theIreland’s corner during the Dundrod 150 Superbike race of the Ulster GP in Northern Ireland. He was catapulted to the adjacentfield, narrowly missed a tree and ended up with fractured vertebrae, ribs andsternum, as well as a badly damaged right hand. He went under the knife thevery next day and four days later, on Tuesday, August 11, he checked himselfout of the hospital.
"I'mon the mend – few upgrades to me hand and back but feel right enough. All partof the job. Thanks very much for the support as always," Martin stated in hisTwitter feed.
By "upgrades" he means steel rods in his back to stabilizethe injury to his thoracic spine and a pin in his hand.
Unfortunately,this turn of events forced Triumph to postpone the planned attempt until 2016.
“We’re obviously concerned with the news that Guy has sustained injuries asa result of his crash in last week’s Dundrod 150 race," Triumph said in an official statement. "While in true form, Guyhas signed himself out of hospital this week, we all feel that given hisinjuries it won’t be possible to complete the required testing prior toattempting to take the record this year.
“Guy is a unique talent and having such a pilot for our Rocket motorcycleis absolutely central to our attempt. We wish him a full and speedy recoveryand will confirm a new date for our 2016 bid as soon as we can."
TriumphMotorcycles is poised to return the motorcycle land speed record back toEngland and has been preparing for this since 2013. Last year a technicalproblem in final testing forced the team to withdraw at the last minute. Thisyear the whole event is in doubt, as the poor surface conditions at the BonnevilleSalt Flats led to the cancelation of the Speed Week that was scheduled forAugust 8-14. Despite the Salt Flats running out of, surprisingly enough, salt, the Motorcycle SpeedTrials are still a go, alas not for Triumph anymore.
Hopefully, third time’s the charm and everything will go as planned next year.
Source: Triumph