Guy Martin has had his first taste of the Tyco BMW S1000RR he will race at this year’s Isle of Man TT, North West 200 and Ulster Grand Prix on the first day of testing at Almeria.

Martin, who was joined by team-mate William Dunlop, completed what was described as a ‘generous’ number of laps on the bike and will carry on today.

“I haven’t hardly touched a thing on the Tyco BMW S 1000 RR apart from footrests and bars and I’m more than impressed already. It’s that nimble and has such a great feel, you could ride it for a lifetime; it really is a mega bike,” said Martin.

“We rode today on used tyres, which does help you get a good feeling for a bike, and I had one hundred percent confidence in it and felt great. It goes like ‘you know what… off a shovel’ and even though I haven’t ridden a competitive bike for around six months, I know fast when I ride it, and it did everything I asked of it.

“If I’m honest I’ve got more out of the first day on this bike than I did here last year for three days – so take from that what you will.”