#GuyMartin

Is print dead? I consume current events almost exclusively online lately, reaching for my beloved old leatherbound tomes usually only in the last half-hour before toddling off to Dreamland with a warm glass of milk. Some magazines are hanging in there, but many are slowly sliding off to oblivion. There’s just no way for a thing printed on dead trees to match the speed of the internet. But maybe that’s a good thing for really good books worth reading? Just in time for the holidays, we’ve rounded up the Best Books for Motorcyclists. (Having said all that, most of these are also available electronically.)

Team Mugen presented the latest version of its TT Zero-winning electric racebike at the 2017 Tokyo Motorcycle Show. John McGuinness, and Guy Martin will ride the Mugen Shinden Roku (“roku” meaning “six”) in this year’s race.

Fan favorite Guy Martin is returning to the Isle of Man TT, signing on to join longtime Honda factory rider John McGuinness to ride the new CBR1000RR SP2. The two will ride the Fireblade in the Superbike class in both the Isle of Man TT and the North West 200.

Thirty-four-year-old, Guy Martin, cheated death last night in Great Britain as he successfully set a new Wall of Death speed record of 78.15 mph. At that speed Martin was experiencing intense G-forces upwards of 5.2G. “10G was far too much, but a wall of 40m (120 feet) in diameter would allow Guy to take on slightly less,” said event presenter, Steve Jones. Following the high-speed thrill ride the TT racer from Grimsby, Lincolnshire sipped a cup of tea.

Motorcycle road racing is ingrained in the asphalt of Northern Ireland’s North Coast, and Guy Martin is one of the sport’s most famous sons. But with his many competing passions, including a bourgeoning TV career, we wondered if the speed-obsessed Englishman might be preparing to exit the road racing career that has built his luminescent personality.

Having just recovered from my 8th annual trip to the Isle of Man, and already planning for next year’s endeavor, it’s time to look back on what was, by any measure, one of the great TT fortnights in the storied 108-year history of the event. And, to premiere the 2015 edition of the Motorcycle.com TT Review video, five minutes of sights, sound and motion from the greatest motorsports event on Earth.

Week one of the 2015 Isle of Man TT race meet, humbly called Practice Week, is wrapping up, with the usual mix of triumph and tragedy. I arrived on the Isle just as qualifying started, and made my usual rounds: Checked in to the Arrandale Hotel, ideally situated within walking distance to the grandstand, paddock and Douglas Promenade. Picked up a roarty little Triumph Street Triple, and did a few laps of the TT Course, followed some off the beaten path back roads, where the soundtrack of the three-pot mill acted as a handy sheep repellant. I registered at the TT Marshal’s hut, hit the Woodbourne Pub for reconnection with old friends (IoM pub reports to follow), and started to immerse myself in the wonder that is TT Practice Week which challenges TT Race Week for atmosphere and spectating with the added benefit of un-crowded motorbike touring.

The Isle of Man TT, which kicks off yet again this Saturday, May 30, occupies a special place in the world of motorsports. An unmatched two-week spectacle in an idyllic setting with almost unimaginably brave athletes, the TT proudly sticks a middle finger in the face of the banality and conformity that rules modern life and more pedestrian sporting events.

The Isle of Man TT officially began two days ago, and from now until June 6 the grandest spectacle of two-wheeled sport will captivate viewers and race fans for yet another year. Personally, I love the TT. The grandeur of racing through the town of Douglas, with the sight of walls, homes and pubs whizzing past at triple-digit speeds is exciting in a way few who have never ridden a motorcycle will ever know.