Guy Martin’s return to the short circuits failed to give him an upturn in fortunes as the Kirmington rider was forced to retire from both races of Round 5 of the British Superbike Championship at Snetterton. Riding the Hydrex Bike Animal Honda, Martin had hoped to increase his tally of points but the electrical problems that had plagued him at the Isle of Man followed him to the Norfolk venue and he left the circuit a frustrated man once more.
 
Having competed at both the North West 200 and Isle of Man TT races, it was Guy’s first time back on the BSB trail since Brands Hatch over a month ago and all the pure road racing showed as he struggled to get back on to the frenetic pace of the Superbike series. Twentieth in qualifying meant that he would start from the fifth row of the grid and his cause wasn’t aided by a spill at the Esses after a rain shower soaked the circuit in the closing stages of the session.
 
However, hopes were high for both races that he could get into the points but, try as he might, he couldn’t make an impression on the top 15 in the first race and although he got up to 17th by the 7th lap, the bike began to slow and he eventually pulled in to the pits on the 13th lap. It was a similar story in the second race later in the day, which was delayed by heavy rain. When it did get underway, Guy again moved up to 17th in the early laps but by the 6th lap, the electrical problem had reared it’s head once more and he toured back to the garage, his race over.
 
Speaking at the end of the day Guy commented:
 
“Riding on the roads and riding on the short circuits are two totally different things and require totally different riding styles and it’s taking me longer than I would have liked to get back into short circuit mode. It’s hard telling your brain to do something that it hasn’t been doing for over a month so I’ve struggled to get on the pace here as a result. It was always going to be difficult from the 20th although I was more than ready to get stuck into the races but the problems we had at the TT have followed me over the Irish Sea by the looks of things.”
 
“The bike just feels flat and it keeps losing power after a few laps but the team changed everything they possibly could between the two races to try and get to the bottom of it. The same thing happened again though so we’ve got a test lined up for Cadwell Park this weekend in order to get to the bottom of it once for all. There’s plenty more racing left in the season and having cracked the top ten already this year, that’s where I want to be so the test should allow us to get everything sorted in time for Mallory Park. I haven’t ridden at Mallory since 2003 but I know where I’m going so let’s hope our luck turns there.”