John McGuinness, Guy Martin On Honda Racing IOMTT Dream Team

Honda Motor Europe has announced an exciting two-rider line-up for its 2017 roadracing assault at the North West 200 and Isle of Man TT in the Superbike classes. Re-signing for the Honda Racing team is TT legend John McGuinness, who will be joined by Guy Martin on the all-new Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade SP2.

Making his return to racing after a year away, fan favorite Martin will form a formidable team with McGuinness and the brand new Fireblade SP2 on the roads. Martin has enjoyed huge success on the roads during his career securing wins at various races including the Ulster GP, Scarborough Gold Cup, Armoy, Cookstown and also the Southern 100. He has also stepped onto the TT podium 15 times and will be chasing his elusive maiden TT win with the Honda Racing team.

"Neil [Tuxworth] has been talking to me for a while about joining the team,” said Martin. “But I had a lot of thinking to do before I committed and said yes. I spent a lot of time on my pushbike to and from work, thinking about what to do. I didn’t want to grow old regretting not giving the Honda a go, and the more time passes since making the decision, the more I’ve thought it is the right decision. Honda is a great team and the Fireblade has always been a weapon on the roads, so with the new bike, I‘m keen to give it a go. We’ve got a busy testing schedule coming up and I’ve put some other stuff off to make time. John [McGuinness] is the man, I’ve got massive respect for him and I’m looking forward to racing on the Fireblade against him."

Meanwhile, McGuinness will be looking to add to his impressive tally of 23 TT wins, and riding the new Fireblade SP2, will also be aiming to recapture his lap record which was broken during last year’s race.

"I’m back with Honda for another year,” said McGuinness. “Really I’m part of the family, and I can’t wait to see what the new Fireblade SP2 can do! I know the old model like the back of my hand and have taken a lot of my TT wins with the old girl, so I can’t wait to get out on track and try the new machine out.”

The Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade is the most successful 1000cc machine ever at the Isle of Man TT and Honda aims to add to its remarkable record with the new SP2 version, which is the ultimate expression of the Fireblade’s Next Stage Total Control concept.

The SP2 is a road-legal homologation special based on the Fireblade SP that is specifically developed for racing and features a revised cylinder head with larger valve sizes and lightweight Marchesini wheels for even greater performance.

The all-new Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade SP2 will make its road racing debut at the North West 200 in May.