Guy Martin to 'wild-card' for Relentless at Brands

Relentless by TAS Suzuki has announced that it will be at full strength for the opening round of the 2011 MCE British Superbike Championship, with Guy Martin joining Josh Brookes.

Though the team, which receives full backing from Suzuki GB this year for the first time, is set to persevere with just one entry for Brookes over the course of a season, Martin will get a run out on the Superbike at Brands Hatch in an effort to give him more valuable mileage on the GSX-R1000.

Martin, who will be targeting his first Isle of Man TT victory with Relentless Suzuki this year, last raced in the BSB in 2008 as part of the Hydrex Honda team, finishing 18th in the overall standings.

"I've been to the moon and back testing which is fantastic as I have never enjoyed so much pre-season track time before," he said. "However, practice is alright but you can't beat a bit of racing, so I'm really looking forward to the chance of getting back out on track at Brands Hatch - and to do this in the BSB class is just perfect.

"I'm already quite familiar with the GSX-R1000 Superbike however, this gives us the opportunity to work on some finer detail set-up stuff, which will no doubt come in handy throughout the season."

With more practice sessions than usual available to the BSB riders at the Brands Hatch opener, Relentless Suzuki team manager Philip Neill believes this is an ideal opportunity for Martin to get a head start on his key NW200 and Isle of Man TT rivals.

"The later than normal start to the season has already provided Guy with some great opportunities to spend time on track familiarising himself with our full range of GSX-R machinery that he will be using during our International Road Racing campaign. However, pairing Guy with Josh for the opening Superbike race at Brands Hatch is a perfect way for us to understand how Guy reacts to some set-up changes in a race situation.

"The considerable amount of track time available throughout the four days at Brands and competing against the best riders in British championship will enable Guy to really bring himself up to speed on the Superbike; and although our goals are not necessarily results based, I'm sure Guy will be setting himself some personal targets over the four days.

"I'd like to thank MSVR for accepting our application for a wild card entry to this event, as the opportunity really does allow Guy to remind everyone that he is a motorcycle racer, who can ride on circuits as well as he can on the roads. This opportunity should help him prepare for his debut season with us in the best possible way."