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137-497: Guy Martin (born 4 November 1981) is a British former motorcycle racer and heavy vehicle mechanic who became a television presenter. He retired from motorcycle racing in July 2017. Martin started racing in 1998 and in 2004 competed on a road circuit for the first time at the Isle of Man TT . He has a total of 17 podium finishes at TT events. He has broken his back twice in racing accidents, in

274-501: A 1000cc four cylinder road bike called the YZF 'R1' , this model introduced a new style of gearbox design which shortened the overall length of the motor/gearbox case, to allow a more compact unit. This, in turn allowed the motor to be placed in the frame further forward, designed to improve handling in a short wheel-based frame. In 1995, Yamaha announced the creation of Star Motorcycles , a new brand name for its cruiser series of motorcycles in

411-689: A 2nd making him the Man of the Meeting. In the early season Martin took part in British Superbike and Supersport rounds to prepare for the road racing season. The first major international of the year was the North West 200 in which he finished with an eighth, a fourth, two thirds and a second. In the CP Hire Superstock race after a bad start Martin finished third. The Isle of Man TT was the next major race on

548-404: A Fastest Lap or Pole Position despite being on the grid for nearly a decade. After the conclusion of the 1997 Formula One Season, Yamaha decided to pull out of the sport, a possible reason for this was due to a disagreement with Arrows regarding the 1998 engine's identification, Yamaha wished to carry out work on the engine with their engineers while Arrows wished for their own engineers to work on

685-518: A Scania centre in Grimsby . He only takes short periods off to race or do television work. He also earns money by tuning fellow racers' bikes in the evenings, and takes casual work during TT race weeks. Eager to keep his options open, he has even acquired a tractor via a TV deal, using it on biomass farms for seasonal muck-spreading at night. While completing his apprenticeship as a lorry mechanic, Martin raced motorbikes in his spare time. Martin returned to

822-509: A certain way." As a result of his BBC work, he had begun to be recognized by non-racing fans even before the release of the TT3D film. He would be quite happy if nobody watched his shows, as it would mean he would never get recognized. While not wanting to seem unappreciative of the public's support, he tries to cope with fame by avoiding crowded situations. He prefers to live out of his van while racing or on television shoots. He does not see TV work as

959-457: A cross-drilled front disc brake rotor, while the rear remained with the drum brakes. The design was unchanged until it was updated in 2004, with the rear lights being borrowed by the Yamaha Y125Z and a new headlight. It was also installed with a catalytic converter, which reduced its horsepower to 19bhp. However, the maximum torque remained unchanged but the low-end torque was improved compared to

1096-435: A dedicated community of riders, collectors, and fans who appreciate the history and craftsmanship of these classic machines. Some of the regulations include, air-cooled two-Stroke engines, drum brakes and kick starters. These features add to the nostalgic charm and require riders to adapt their riding techniques accordingly. Hare scramble is the name given to a particular form of off-road motorcycle racing. Traditionally

1233-465: A different line into corners, sliding of the back wheel around the corner, and using the leg straight out to corner (as opposed to the noticeable touching of the bent knee to the tarmac of road racers). Enduro is a form of off-road motorcycle sport that primarily focuses on the endurance of the competitor. In the most traditional sense ("Time Card Enduros"), competitors complete a 10+ mile lap, of predominately off-road going, often through forestry. The lap

1370-472: A double downtube cradle frame and offered the first five-speed transmission in a Japanese motorcycle. This period also saw Yamaha offer its first outboard marine engine. By 1963, Yamaha's dedication to both the two-stroke engine and racing paid off with their first victory in international competition, at the Belgian GP, where they won the 250cc class. Success in sales was even more impressive, and Yamaha set up

1507-688: A few sea-front promenades , generally with one set of timing equipment, for the 1 ⁄ 4 -mile distance, although some used 1 ⁄ 8 -mile, as still happens at the Ramsey seafront as the Ramsey Sprint , part of added attractions during the Isle of Man TT and Manx Grand Prix events. Santa Pod Raceway was the first permanent drag-strip established in UK and Europe in 1966. Writing in his 1970 book, Peter Carrick stated: Though basically similar, sprinting and drag racing have essential differences. Sprinting

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1644-460: A fifth position, in race two a win, and in the superbike race, which was shortened due to weather, a second. After this red flag the day's racing was cancelled due to bad weather and that meant for the second year in a row Martin was the Man of the Meeting. The Scarborough Gold Cup meeting ended with him winning all the races on the final day including the Gold Cup and the second 600 race of the day after

1781-469: A full-time presenter, seeing some in the industry as "passionate about anything that they're told to be passionate about". He had only watched one of his shows, the Pike's Peak episode of Speed , and this was only on the recommendation of a usually unimpressed friend. In Guy Martin's Best Bits (2020) he provided commentary whilst watching several of his shows. A successful debut year on the roads that saw him win

1918-429: A given amount of time or laps or a combination. Motocross has a plethora of classes based upon machine displacement (ranging from 50cc 2-stroke youth machines up to 250cc two-stroke and 450cc four-stroke), age of competitor, ability of competitor, sidecars, quads/ATVs, and machine age (classic for pre-1965/67, Twinshock for bikes with two shock absorbers, etc.). Supercross (or SX) is simply indoor motocross. Supercross

2055-490: A good battle with John McGuinness and Ian Lougher who were also both on the same Hondas as Martin. As well as contesting a full season in the British Superbike Championship, in 2008 Martin again competed in the three International road races but was denied his first TT win when he broke down whilst leading the opening Superbike race. He was eleven seconds in the lead when an electrical problem forced him out on

2192-800: A hare scramble can vary in length and time with the contestants completing multiple laps around a marked course through wooded or other rugged natural terrain. The overall winner is the contestant who maintains the highest speed throughout the event. In Florida, Hare scrambles start the race with a staggered starting sequence. Once on the course, the object of the competitor is to complete the circuit as fast as possible. The race consists of wooded areas or open fields. Cross-country rally events (also called Rallye Raid or simply Rallye , alternate spelling Rally ) are much bigger than enduros. Typically using larger bikes than other off-road sports, these events take place over many days, travelling hundreds of miles across primarily open off-road terrain. The most famous example

2329-401: A job as a lorry mechanic, additionally selling bikes. His mother, Rita Kidals, was of Latvian heritage, her father having come to Britain in 1947 as a political refugee . Soon after Martin's birth, the family moved to a house outside the town, where they remained. Martin has two sisters and a brother. His brother, Stuart, is also a truck mechanic and motorbike racer. His younger sister, Kate,

2466-419: A job in itself and would not miss it if it were to end; he views it as a means to do things he otherwise could not, gaining invaluable sources of information and experiences from the people it allows him to meet. As such, he frequently turns down offers of television work if they do not interest him, and has said his existing TV workload was already becoming an issue. He fears being seen as inauthentic if he became

2603-477: A long TT heritage. This switch to what was effectively a factory team meant the end of tuning his own equipment – at TAS, he would simply be riding pre-prepared machines. Martin agreed a new deal for 2015 with TAS after the team signed a new equipment deal with BMW Motorrad , to ride the BMW S1000RR alongside William Dunlop . Martin was prepared to retire had TAS not chosen to switch to BMW, believing he had raced

2740-528: A mechanic in classic bike racing. Martin attended Kirmington Church of England Primary School and The Vale Academy school, leaving at age 16. Martin had shown an interest in working on trucks as early as age 12. As a child he was fascinated by engines, and would take apart lawnmowers to try to make them go faster. Post-school he enrolled in North Lindsey College on a motor vehicle engineering course, but on recognising further education without pay

2877-477: A motorcycle class which is the equivalent of Speedway on ice. Bikes race anti-clockwise around oval tracks between 260 and 425 metres in length. Metal tire spikes or screws are often allowed to improve traction. The race structure and scoring are similar to Speedway. Board track racing was a type of track racing popular in the United States between the second and third decades of the 20th century, where competition

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3014-574: A motorcycle must be at least 25 years old to be considered vintage. The sanctioning body for most US vintage racing is the American Motorcyclist Association . The main organizations that sponsor vintage racing are the American Historic Racing Motorcycle Association (AHRMA), BikeBandit and WERA Motorcycle Roadracing, which has several vintage classes along with modern racers. Of historical importance

3151-479: A motorcycle must have a four-stroke engine of between 250 and 600 cc for four-cylinder machines, and between 600 and 750 cc for twins , and must satisfy the FIM homologation requirements. Supersport regulations are much tighter than Superbikes. Supersport machines must remain largely as standard, while engine tuning is possible but tightly regulated. Endurance racing is a category of motorcycle road racing which

3288-598: A move from previous seasons, Martin moved away from the main Hydrex team, preferring instead to run a smaller team and after a steady North West 200 meeting, confidence was high going into the TT, his number one event of the year, as he sought to win a race at the 37.73 mile circuit on the Isle of Man. After claiming two seconds and a third on the Superstock, Superbike and Supersport bikes early in

3425-456: A much more geographically dispersed range of locations. In addition to traditional Time Card Enduros held over a long lap, a variety of other forms of sport have been taken up; notably "Short Course Enduros", a shorter (in lap length) form of Time Card Enduros Hare scrambles and " Hare and Hounds ". A variant of Enduro called Hard Enduro also exists which take Enduro racing to extremes with even larger, longer and tougher courses than Enduro, it

3562-559: A new larger displacement model was added to the range, the 350cc two stroke twin R-1. In 1968, Yamaha launched their first four-stroke motorcycle, the XS-1/650 which was a 650cc four-stroke twin, a larger and more powerful machine that equaled the displacement and performance of the popular British bikes of the era, such as the Triumph Bonneville and BSA Gold Star. Yamaha continued on with both

3699-423: A number of capacities. There was a persistent, but apocryphal, rumour to the effect that "RD" indicated race developed . In fact, "R" appears to have indicated reed valved , "D" the twin (or double ) cylinder models and "S" the single-cylinder models. The RD family would be developed through the 1970s and 1980s, gaining solid wheels, water-cooling, YPVS, and other newer technology 'til they had little in common with

3836-631: A one-year break in 1990), initially for the Zakspeed team, in 1991 for the Brabham BT60Y , in 1992 for the Jordan 192 , from 1993 to 1996 for Tyrrell , and in 1997 for the Arrows A18 . The Yamaha Engines never won a race ( Damon Hill nearly did so at the 1997 Hungarian Grand Prix ), drivers including Damon Hill, Ukyo Katayama , Mark Blundell and Mika Salo scored some acceptable results with Blundell achieving

3973-519: A passenger shifts body weight across the sidecar is crucial to its performance around corners. Sidecar racing has many sub-categories including: Motocross (or MX) is the direct equivalent of road racing, but off-road, a number of bikes racing on a closed circuit. Motocross circuits are constructed on a variety of non-tarmac surfaces such as dirt, sand, mud, grass, etc., and tend to incorporate elevation changes either natural or artificial. Advances in motorcycle technology, especially suspension, have led to

4110-625: A plant at Port Qasim , Karachi. Yamaha purchased small engine maker Subaru Industrial Power Products from Subaru in October 2017. Subaru's engines powered lawnmowers, generators and water pumps and have since been rebranded as Yamaha. In motorcycle racing Yamaha has won 39 world championships, including seven in MotoGP and 10 in the preceding 500 cc two-stroke class, and two in World Superbike . In addition Yamaha have recorded 210 victories at

4247-467: A polished concrete floor with coke syrup, or other media sprayed or mopped onto the concrete for traction for the tyres of the motorcycles, or on dirt that has been moistened and hard packed, or left loose (often called a cushion). Similar to the size of the Arenacross Arenas or sometimes smaller, these tight indoor race tracks require the riders to have accurate throttle control to negotiate them. In

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4384-513: A radical and somewhat outrageous design based on Group C cars of the time, with features such as the cockpit-locking roof. It also shared the same chassis as the Formula 1 car, to try to give the consumer market a pure Formula 1 experience. Eventually disagreements with IAD over the budget made Yamaha take the project to its own Ypsilon Technology which was given six months to finish the project, otherwise it would be terminated. To make matters worse, Japan

4521-460: A record-breaking five victories in all the solo races, and Martin suffered serious injuries in a major crash in the final race. Prior to that crash, during the Superbike race, Martin received a 30-second penalty for exceeding the posted pit lane speed limit of 60 km/h by just 0.112 km/h. His performance at the TT was criticised by Simon Buckmaster , whose Performance Technical Racing built

4658-583: A supercar in the 1990s, named the Yamaha OX99-11 . It was made as a supercar to have a Yamaha Formula 1 engine as its powerplant and have Formula 1 technology in it. Even though their engines did not win a Grand Prix, by 1991 the team had produced a new engine, the OX99, and approached a German company to design an initial version of the car. Yamaha was not pleased with the result as it was too similar to sport cars of that time, so it contacted IAD to continue working on

4795-604: A surprise 3rd place at the 1994 Spanish Grand Prix and Hill with 2nd at the aforementioned 1997 Hungarian Grand Prix, this partly was considered to be due to Yamaha collaborating with the John Judd Engine Organization to create a better and reliable engine however there were questions raised as to whether the Yamaha Engines used from 1993 until 1997 were just Judd engines with the Yamaha branding on top of this. 1994

4932-555: A two-stroke naked sport bike, related to the Yamaha RX-135 and Yamaha RD-135, borrowing its chassis and platform. Originally equipped with a five speed transmission and a solid front disc brake rotor with rear drum brakes, it was popular in Malaysia and Singapore. After a few years on the market, the engine was upgraded with the installation of a six-speed transmission, together with a newer instrument panel and handlebar switches, as well as

5069-447: A variety of displacements and engine configurations. The RZV500 was one of the first "repli-racers", a near copy of Kenny Roberts competition GP bike, it featured a liquid-cooled two-stroke motor of 500cc displacement in a V4 configuration, along with a perimeter frame and full fairing. A more popular and practical high-performance model for the street was introduced in 1985, the FZ750 . It

5206-436: A variety of human and engine powered vehicles. He has also written four books, and competed in mountain bike pedal-cycle races. Martin was born on November 4, 1981, in a suburb of Grimsby , Lincolnshire , England. He was named Guy in tribute to Guy Gibson of No. 617 Squadron RAF . His father Ian was a privateer motorbike racer who had competed in several Isle of Man TT events, but was forced to supplement his income with

5343-511: A way to switch off during TT events (practice only being in the evenings). Martin is not comfortable with being a public figure and rejects any notion that he is a celebrity, turning down offers such as Top Gear ' s Star in a Reasonably Priced Car segment. After struggling to come to terms with the fame brought about by his media work, Martin was diagnosed with Asperger syndrome . About his psychiatrist's findings, he says "It hasn't changed anything, it just confirms why I do certain things in

5480-616: Is a World Enduro Championship (WEC) that has events across Europe, with a few excursions to North America. The most significant event in the Enduro calendar is the International Six Days Enduro (formerly the International Six Days Trial), where countries enter teams of riders (i.e. Enduro's "World Cup"), as well as club teams – the event combines amateur sport with the professional level sport, it also takes place in

5617-495: Is a Japanese mobility manufacturer that produces motorcycles, motorboats , outboard motors, and other motorized products. The company was established in the year 1955 upon separation from Nippon Gakki Co., Ltd. (currently Yamaha Corporation ) and is headquartered in Iwata , Shizuoka , Japan. The company conducts development, production and marketing operations through 109 consolidated subsidiaries as of 2012. Led by Genichi Kawakami ,

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5754-486: Is a form of motorcycle racing held on paved road surfaces . The races can be held either on a purpose-built closed circuit or on a street circuit utilizing temporarily closed public roads . Historically, "road racing" meant a course on closed public roads. This was once commonplace but currently only a few such circuits have survived, mostly in Europe. Races take place on public roads which have been temporarily closed to

5891-474: Is a highly diversified company which produces products for a large number of industries and consumer market segments: Yamaha has built engines for other manufacturers' vehicles beginning with the development and production of the Toyota 2000GT (1967). The cylinder head from the Toyota 4A-GE engine was developed by Yamaha and built at Toyota's Shimayama plant alongside the 4A and 2A engines. In 1984, executives of

6028-514: Is a race against the clock, even if other competitors are taking part at the same time. Drag racing is more of a contest, often between a couple of racers . Where a time was one-way only, any record could be regarded as strip-only, as for official recognition of world and national records two qualifying runs had to be completed in opposite-directions within one-hour, to negate the effect of wind, with an average time resulting. Writing in 1974, Motorcycle News contributor Jim Reynolds stated: " This

6165-455: Is also involved in the import and sale of various types of products, the development of tourist businesses, and the management of leisure, recreational facilities and related services. Yamaha's motorcycle sales are the second largest in the world and Yamaha is the world leader in water vehicle sales. Nippon Gakki Co., Ltd (currently Yamaha Corporation ) was founded by Torakusu Yamaha in 1887 to manufacture reed organs and pianos and became

6302-479: Is designed to bring together all disciplines of Enduro – Hard Enduro, Classic Enduro, Cross-Country and Beach Racing. The FIM Hard Enduro World Championship is the main championship in this category. Another variant of Enduro is Vintage Enduro which combines the elements of off-road racing and long-distance touring, making it a popular choice among enthusiasts who enjoy the challenges and nostalgia associated with vintage motorcycles. Vintage Enduro events often attract

6439-411: Is desired. A normal event lasts for 3 to 4 hours, although longer events are not uncommon. Some events, particularly national and world championship events take place over several days and require maintenance work to be carried out within a limited time window or while the race is running. To prevent circumvention of the maintenance restrictions, the motorcycles are kept overnight in secure storage. There

6576-463: Is drag racing, a young sport in England, but growing faster than any other ". In hill climbing, a single rider climbs or tries to climb a road going up a hill in the fastest time or the furthest up the hill before ceasing forward motion. Tarmac events are typically on closed public roads and private roads. The same concept is also used off-tarmac, usually on steeper hills. In Landspeed motorcycle racing,

6713-412: Is made up of different stages, each with a target time to complete that stage in exactly, there are penalties for being early and late, thus the goal is to be exactly "on time". Some stages are deliberately "tight", others are lax allowing the competitor to recuperate. There are also a variety of special tests, on variety of terrain to further aid classification, these are speed stages where the fastest time

6850-431: Is meant to test the durability of equipment and endurance of the riders. Teams of multiple riders attempt to cover a large distance in a single event. Teams are given the ability to change riders during the race. Endurance races can be run either to cover a set distance in laps as quickly as possible, or to cover as much distance as possible over a preset amount of time. Reliability of the motorcycles used for endurance racing

6987-420: Is more technical and rhythmic for riders. Typically situated in a variety of stadiums and open or closed arenas, it is notable for its numerous jumps. In North America, this has been turned into an extremely popular spectator sport, filling large baseball, soccer, and football stadiums, leading to Motocross being now termed the "outdoors". However, in Europe it is a less popular sport, as the predominant focus there

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7124-456: Is on Motocross. Supermoto is a racing category that is a crossover between road-racing and motocross. The motorcycles are mainly motocross types with road-racing tyres. The racetrack is a mixture of road and dirt courses (in different proportions) and can take place either on closed circuits or in temporary venues (such as urban locations). The riding style on the tarmac section is noticeably different from other forms of tarmac-based racing, with

7261-410: Is paramount. Sidecar racing is a category of sidecar motorcycle racing. Older sidecar road racers generally resembled solo motorcycles with a platform attached; modern racing sidecars are purpose built low and long vehicles. Sidecarcross resembles MX motorcycles with a high platform attached. In sidecar racing a rider and a passenger work together to make the machine perform optimally; the way in which

7398-681: Is the Dakar Rally , previously travelling from Western Europe (often Paris) to Dakar in Senegal, via the Sahara desert, taking almost two weeks. From 2009 to 2019 the Dakar Rally had been held in South America traveling through Argentina, Peru and Chile. Starting in 2020 the event now runs in the deserts of Saudi Arabia. The FIM Cross-Country Rallies World Championship also exists encompassing many events across

7535-744: Is the United States Classic Racing Association (USCRA) one of the oldest vintage racing clubs in the US. In the UK the Main organisations are The British Historic Racing Club (BHRC), an arm of the Vintage motorcycle club, and the Classic Motorcycle Racing Club (CRMRC). The CRMC was formed about thirty years ago when the BHRC was slow to include new machines in the 25 years rule and to deal with

7672-667: The 1LR-GUE engine found on the 2010–2012 Lexus LFA , the 2UR-GSE found in Lexus ISF , the 3S-GTE engine found on the Toyota MR2 and Toyota Celica GT4/All-Trac , the 2ZZ-GE engine found on the 1999–2006 Toyota Celica GT-S and Lotus Elise Series 2, and the Toyota 4GR-FSE engine found on the Lexus IS250. Yamaha also tunes engines for manufacturers, such as Toyota, so Yamaha logos are on Toyota S engines . Yamaha also tried to produce

7809-556: The A.M.A. Grand National Championship , mile, half-mile, short-track and TT races are part of a specific discipline labelled "Dirt track" or sometimes "Flat track" (also called Flat Track). However the AMA Sanction rule books refer to this discipline as Dirt track racing. Whether mile, half-mile, short-track or TT, traction is what defines a dirt track race. The bikes cannot use "knobbies", they must use "Class C" tires which are similar to street tires. On mile, half-mile, short-track course,

7946-521: The AMA Supercross Championship two years in a row, in 2008 with Chad Reed, and 2009 James Stewart. Yamaha was the first to build a production monoshock motocross bike (1975 for 250 and 400, 1976 for 125) and one of the first to have a water-cooled motocross production bike (1977 in works bikes, 1981 in off-the-shelf bikes). Yamaha's first Motocross competition four-stroke bike, the YZ400F, won

8083-499: The Isle of Man TT and head the list of victories at the Sidecar TT with 40. Past Yamaha riders include: Jarno Saarinen , Giacomo Agostini , Bob Hannah , Heikki Mikkola , Bruce Anstey , Kenny Roberts , Eddie Lawson , Wayne Rainey , Jeremy McGrath , Stefan Merriman , Dave Molyneux , Ian Hutchinson , Phil Read , Chad Reed , Ben Spies , Jorge Lorenzo , and nine-time world champion Valentino Rossi . The Yamaha YZ450F won

8220-798: The Zetec-SE branded 4-cylinder engines used in several Ford cars like the small sports car Ford Puma . From 2005 to 2010, Yamaha produced a 4.4 Litre V8 for Volvo . The B8444S engines were used in the XC90 and S80 models, whilst also adapted to 5.0L configuration for Volvo's foray into the V8 Supercars with the S60 . British sportscar maker Noble also uses a bi-turbo version of the Volvo V8 in their M600 . All performance-oriented cylinder heads on Toyota/ Lexus engines were designed and/or built by Yamaha. Some examples are

8357-502: The 1960s and 1970s with increasing success in several formats. The decade of the 1970s was capped by the XT500 winning the first Paris-Dakar Rally in 1979. By 1980 the combination of consumer preference and environmental regulation made four strokes increasingly popular. Suzuki ended production of their GT two stroke series , including the flagship water-cooled two-stroke 750cc GT-750 in 1977. Kawasaki, who had considerable success throughout

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8494-424: The 1970s with their two-stroke triples of 250cc, 350cc, 400cc, 500cc and 750cc ended production of road-going two strokes in 1980. Yamaha bucked this trend and continued to refine and sell two-strokes for the street into the 1980s. These bikes were performance oriented, water-cooled twin cylinder machines, designed to achieve excellent performance taking advantage of the lower weight of two strokes. The RZ-250 of 1980

8631-648: The 1998 USA outdoor national Championship with factory rider Doug Henry. Since 1962, Yamaha made production road racing Grand Prix motorcycles that any licensed road racer could purchase. In 1970, non-factory privateer teams dominated the 250 cc World Championship with Great Britain's Rodney Gould winning the title on a Yamaha TD2 . Yamaha also sponsors several professional ATV riders in several areas of racing, such as cross country racing and motocross. Yamaha has had success in cross country with their YFZ450, ridden by Bill Ballance, winning 9 straight titles since 2000. Yamaha's other major rider, Traci Cecco, has ridden

8768-810: The 2010 TT and the 2015 Ulster Grand Prix . In August 2017, Martin joined Formula 1 car team Williams ' pit-crew for the Belgian GP . Martin returned to road racing in May 2019 at the Tandragee 100 in Northern Ireland. Martin starred in Closer to the Edge , a 2011 documentary on TT racing. He has since presented programmes on various engineering topics, as well as the Channel 4 series Speed with Guy Martin when he set speed records in

8905-437: The 2015 Ford Transit L2 H2, and the 2016 Ford Mustang V8 GT, as well as writing about his own Volvo Vöx and his Wall of Death show. Martin has set the following speed records. In July 2015 it was confirmed that Martin was to pilot Triumph Motorcycles ' attempt on the motorcycle land speed record (World's Fastest Motorcycle), at the time standing at 376.363 mph (605 km/h), set by Rocky Robinson in 2010. The attempt

9042-534: The 2016 season Martin decided not to race in the TT for the first time in 11 years, opting instead for a mountain bike race. He was uncertain if the decision would lead him to retire from road racing, mountain bike racing, or if he would go on to do something else, but said "if I do race on the roads it will be with TAS". Martin signed a new deal with Honda Racing on 18 January 2017 to ride the Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade SP2, rekindling his ambition to win

9179-689: The American market. In other markets, Star motorcycles are still sold under the Yamaha brand. This was an attempt to create a brand identity more closely aligned with the cruiser market segment, one of the largest and most lucrative in the US. In 2007, Yamaha established the Philippine operations and distributes Yamaha motorcycles under the corporate name of Yamaha Motor Philippines, Inc., one of more than 20 worldwide subsidiaries operating on all continents. In 2015, Yamaha invested US$ 150 million in Pakistan to set up

9316-528: The BBC in 2011; and How Britain Worked on Channel 4 in 2012. His thrill-seeking side later emerged with the production of the series Speed with Guy Martin , first airing on Channel 4 in 2013. Uncomfortable with presenting to camera or working from a script, his preferred style is to improvise his dialogue, and work by responding to questions from crew off camera. He later turned down an invitation from Chris Evans to join

9453-614: The Catalina Grand Prix, again with the YA-1, at which they placed sixth. The YA-1 was followed by the YA-2 of 1957, another 125cc two stroke, but with significantly improved frame and suspension. The YD-1 of 1957 was a 250cc two-stroke twin cylinder motorcycle, resembling the YA-2, but with a larger and more powerful motor. A performance version of this bike, the YDS-1 housed the 250cc two-stroke twin in

9590-636: The Cock o' the North and International Gold Cup races at Oliver's Mount , Scarborough as well as the Irish 750cc Support Championship. The International road race meetings had mixed results: the North West 200 never went particularly well, The Isle of Man TT looked promising but problems soon led to it being another disappointment. At the final international of the year, the Ulster Grand Prix , he took 4 race wins and

9727-412: The Cookstown meeting, Martin was set to campaign in all the main races at the North West 200, as a prelude to working up for the Isle of Man TT . However, during the Supersport race he crashed. As a consequence, he was left with a suspected head injury, which resulted in his team manager, Philip Neill, withdrawing Martin from the remainder of the racing programme. This led to rumours of a 'bust-up' with

9864-416: The Isle of Man TT and renewing his focus on his road racing career. Martin first came to the attention of TV executives in 2009 when he appeared in an ITV4 programme intended primarily for fans of that year's TT race. The then film-producer, Andy Spellman, filmed with Martin at the TT. Spellman shot some additional test material of Martin back at home in the summer and the boss of North One Television showed

10001-632: The Isle of Man at age 16. After overhearing lorry driver and amateur racer Baz Kirk discussing his plans to race in the 1997 Manx Grand Prix with his father, he was offered the chance to assist him as a race mechanic. Martin decided to take up racing after a crash on public roads at age 18. He moved to Ireland to join Team Racing. In 2004 he moved to the Uel Duncan Racing team, staying with them until 2005. In 2006 Martin raced for Alistair Flanagan's AIM Yamaha race team, replacing John McGuinness . In

10138-528: The Mixture (2019) and Dead Men Don't Tell Tales (2022). Martin is also listed as the author of companion books for some of his television shows: How Britain Worked , published on 4 October 2012 and Speed , published on 1 December 2013. Martin also writes for the driving section of The Sunday Times newspaper. He has written reviews of the 2015 Aston Martin Vanquish Carbon, the 2015 Range Rover Sport SVR,

10275-819: The Netherlands, Finland, Spain, Belgium, Germany, Great Britain ( Oliver's Mount ), the Czech Republic, Ukraine, New Zealand, Thailand and Macau. Grand Prix motorcycle racing refers to the premier category of motorcycle road racing. It is divided into three distinct classes: Grand Prix motorcycles are prototype machines not based on any production motorcycle. Superbike racing is the category of motorcycle road racing that employs modified production motorcycles, as with touring cars. Superbike racing motorcycles must have four stroke engines of between 800 cc and 1200 cc for twins , and between 750 cc and 1000 cc for four cylinder machines. The motorcycles must maintain

10412-604: The Superprestigio of the Americas in Las Vegas in 2016, to the flat track races held in conjunction with MotoGP at Circuit of the Americas. In 2017 Super Hooligan became an official racing series with 10 races on the calendar for that year from February through October. Sanctioning bodies Yamaha Motor Company#Motorcycle racing highlights Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd. ( ヤマハ発動機株式会社 , Yamaha Hatsudōki Kabushiki gaisha )

10549-515: The Suzuki Team, and resulted in Martin's team boss, Hector Neill, being interviewed on Manx Radio TT 365 prior to the TT, during which Neill scotched such rumours as; "Media inspired skulduggery. Paddock tittle-tattle and unfounded hear-say" . Motorcycle racing The FIM classifies motorcycle racing in the following four main categories. Each category has several subcategories. Road racing

10686-793: The Suzuki as hard as he could. With the new bike, he ran his fastest ever lap of the TT circuit in June 2015 – 132.398 mph – just outside the outright lap record. Martin suffered a serious crash in the Dundrod 150 Superbike event, part of the Ulster Grand Prix races in August 2015. Following the crash, Martin only got back on his racing motorbike in March 2016, for the filming of the F1 special for his Speed series. Since 2011, he has also got into bicycle racing, in 24-hour events. For

10823-434: The U.S., flat-track events are held on outdoor dirt ovals, ranging in length from one mile to half-mile, short-tracks and TTs. All are usually held outdoors, though a few short-track events have been held in indoor stadiums. A Short Track event is one involving a track of less than 1 ⁄ 2 mile in length, while a TT event can be of any length, but it must have at least one right turn and at least one jump to qualify. In

10960-527: The Ulster GP caused the attempt to be postponed until September 2016. Martin's quest to set a new two-wheeled world land speed record was called off due to conditions on the course. The attempt, on the purpose-built 400 mph motorcycle, suffered a number of setbacks at the track at the Bonneville Salt Flats . The streamliner tipped over when it passed over a rut in the track as it was being towed to

11097-738: The YFZ450 to 7 titles, with the first in 2000. In ATV motocross, Yamaha has had success with Dustin Nelson and Pat Brown, both who race the YFZ450. Pat Brown's best season was a 3rd place title in 2007, while Nelson has had two 1st place titles in the Yamaha/ITP Quadcross, one in 2006 and the other in 2008. In 2021, Yamaha has won several competitions, such as British Superbike with Tarran Mackenzie , MotoAmerica with Jake Gagne , MFJ Superbike with Katsuyuki Nakasuga , WorldSSP with Dominique Aegerter , and several other competitions. Their 2022 MotoGP lineup

11234-583: The Yamaha Motor Corporation signed a contract with the Ford Motor Company to develop, produce, and supply compact 60° 3.0 Liter DOHC V6 engines for transverse application for the 1989–95 Ford Taurus SHO . From 1993 to 1995, the SHO engine was produced in 3.0 and 3.2 Liter versions. Yamaha jointly designed the 3.4 Liter DOHC V-8 engine with Ford for the 1996–99 SHO. Ford and Yamaha also developed

11371-483: The bends using the rear wheel to scrub-off speed while still providing the drive to power the bike forward and around the bend. Grasstrack is outdoor speedway. The track are longer (400 m+, hence it is often also referred to as Long Track at world level), often on grass (although other surfaces exist) and even feature elevation changes. Machinery is very similar to a speedway bike (still no brakes, but normally two gears, rear suspension, etc.). Ice racing includes

11508-566: The bike and accepting he was not going to survive the approaching high speed impact with a wall, attributing it to luck that he hit it at the right angle to get away with it. Airlifted to Noble's Hospital in Douglas with chest injuries, he was later diagnosed as suffering bruising to both lungs and minor fractures to his upper spine. A superbike race 2 win at the Ulster Grand Prix followed for Martin after his consistent TT. He finished second in

11645-705: The bikes that fans rode to the event also known as "run what you brung" races. What's now known as "Super Hooligan" came out of the Harley nights at Costa Mesa Speedway in Southern California. Southern California motorcycle culture developed around this idea of racing large V Twin motorcycles. Super Hooligan races have been side entertainment at a number of events from bike shows like the Handbuilt in Austin, The One Show in Portland to

11782-421: The bikes which Martin was running. He accused Martin of not listening to his race advice, arguing "He needs to stop being distracted and lift his professionalism. Instead of being a TV star and courting publicity 24x7, he should be concentrating on racing and what's needed to win. Get his focus and concentration into racing, not promoting his name and money-spinning deals." He also cited disrespectful behavior during

11919-594: The calendar and he got a third, two seconds and a DNF after running out of fuel with fewer than three miles to go until his first pit stop. Martin continued to race on the English scene and he regained his Cock o' the North title at the Scarborough circuit before going to Ireland for the Kells Road Races in which he took one race win. This was preparation for the Ulster Grand Prix and in the first race Martin brought home

12056-400: The clips to a BBC executive. Having engaged Andy Spellman as his advisor and agent in 2009, Martin worked with North One Television producers James Woodroffe and Ewan Keil, who he still works with to this day. Martin's first appearances on TV documentaries were on programmes based around his passion for engineering rather than his love of adrenaline sport - The Boat that Guy Built airing on

12193-829: The company's founder and first president, Yamaha Motor spun off from musical instrument manufacturer Yamaha Corporation in 1955 and began production of its first product, the YA-1 125cc motorcycle. It was quickly successful and won the 3rd Mount Fuji Ascent Race in its class. The company's products include motorcycles , scooters , motorized bicycles , boats, sail boats , personal water craft , swimming pools , utility boats, fishing boats , outboard motors, 4-wheel ATVs , recreational off-road vehicles , go-kart engines, golf carts , multi-purpose engines, electrical generators , water pumps , snowmobiles , small snow throwers , automobile engines , surface mounters, intelligent machinery, industrial-use unmanned helicopters , electrical power units for wheelchairs and helmets . The company

12330-477: The course. Martin was confirmed to be "completely uninjured" and the record attempt was postponed once more. Martin attributes his strong work ethic to his father's example. He has also retained his truck job in part due to the financial security it offered over racing. Describing it as "like an ingrained, default setting", he prioritises his mechanic job over other work, even cancelling complicated film shoots at short notice if needed. He also seeks out casual work as

12467-414: The early models. Some owners of the earlier RX-Z motorcycles may have problems during take-off because the engine tends to stall when an inexperienced rider tries to take off in the first gear. However, the problem was resolved in the new model. In Malaysia, this bike was associated with street racers and was featured in many Malay movies. In 2011, after 26 years, it was discontinued. In 1998 Yamaha marketed

12604-436: The engine instead while still having it badged as a Yamaha engine. ( key ) In March 2024, it was announced Lola Cars will enter Formula E in the 2024–25 season as a powertrain supplier in a technical partnership with Yamaha. A month later, Lola-Yamaha secured Abt Formula E Team as its first powertrain customer for the 2024–25 season, with the team entering the season as Lola Yamaha Abt Formula E Team. Yamaha Motor

12741-499: The equally close Superstock and Supersport races. At the 2009 Gold Cup at Oliver's Mount, Martin won the Steve Henshaw Gold Cup feature race, becoming the first rider to win seven consecutive meetings. In 2010 at the North West 200 his best result being fourth in the second Superbike race. He went to the Isle of Man TT , looking to achieve his first TT victory. However, the meeting was dominated by Ian Hutchinson , who took

12878-532: The final race, the Senior TT , Martin was a challenger to stop Hutchinson achieving the clean sweep, but was involved in an incident on the third lap of the race at Ballagarey, having led the race just before the first pit stop. Recollecting the crash in 2012, Martin recounted how he has been pushing too hard going into the corner at 160–170 mph, having willingly crossed the line [which if you push beyond you might crash] in order to win. He recalled being thrown from

13015-458: The first Japanese machines reaching that age. Nowadays the BHRC caters for machines from Europe and America made up to the mid eighties while the CRMC allows the same era and some but not all Japanese machines. Hooligan racing has been around since the 1970s when fans attending flat track races began racing their own personal motorcycles during intermissions of events. Often these motorcycles were simply

13152-401: The first dedicated off-road bikes for off-road racing and recreation. Yamaha was an early innovator in dirt-bike technology, and introduced the first single-shock rear suspension, the trademarked "Monoshock" of 1973. It appeared in production on the 1974 Yamaha YZ-250, a model which is still in production, making it Yamaha's longest continuous model and name. Yamaha continued racing throughout

13289-431: The first of its international subsidiaries in this period beginning with Thailand in 1964, and the Netherlands in 1968. 1965 saw the release of a 305cc two-stroke twin, the flagship of the company's lineup. It featured a separate oil supply which directly injected oil into the gasoline prior to combustion (traditionally riders had to pre-mix oil into gasoline together before filling the gas tank on two stroke engines). In 1967

13426-626: The fourth lap. He claimed a podium, third, in the Superstock race but suffered further retirements in the Senior and second Supersport races. In September 2008 it was back to Oliver's Mount for the International Gold Cup. Martin won the feature event and now has won 6 Gold Cups in a row, a new record, and also has the lap record for the 1000cc bikes at Scarborough with a time of 1:45.3. In 2009 Martin contested all three Internationals as well as selected British Championship and Irish National races. In

13563-517: The largest Japanese manufacturer of musical instruments in the early 20th Century. Yamaha was contracted to manufacture wooden and (later) metal airplane propellers by the Japanese government during World War II . The company struggled in the aftermath of the war, and in the early 1950s, chairman Genichi Kawakami decided to repurpose its underutilized war-time facilities to manufacture small motorcycles for leisure use. The motorcycle division of Yamaha

13700-500: The latest production motorcycles. Classes are organized by production period and engine displacement. There are vintage events for almost every type of racing listed above, vintage motocross and road racing are especially popular. Equipment is limited to that available for the production period, although modern safety equipment and tires are permitted. Most vintage production periods are from the 1970s and before, but now 1980s and 1990s motorcycles are being allowed into some events. Generally

13837-418: The motorcycle tires lay down a thin layer of tire rubber on the racing line. A "cushion" track consists of similar materials to the groove track, but mixed in a way that allows the surface to maintain a more sandy, loose composition. While power-sliding is common on both groove and cushion tracks, a cushion track allows more power-sliding, into, through and out of the turns. Though the "Class C" tires allowed by

13974-519: The new presenting team of the BBC's motoring show, Top Gear . Martin has written three books about his life, releasing his autobiography, Guy Martin: My Autobiography , on 8 May 2014. It reached No. 1 in the Sunday Times bestseller list and remained there for at least six weeks, and eventually became the second best selling autobiography of 2014. This was followed by Guy Martin: When You’re Dead, You’re Dead, released on 22 October 2015, and covering

14111-593: The opening superbike race behind Bruce Anstey on the Padgetts racing Honda Fireblade. Martin made his first 2012 appearance at the Cookstown 100 meeting in preparation for the North West 200 and Isle of Man TT . Martin brought his race season to a close winning five races at Scarborough's Oliver Mount Gold Cup. He also took part in the Ryan Farquhar Parade lap on one of Ryan's own KMR Kawasaki's. Following on from

14248-644: The original variants (before being supplanted by the TZR). The RS family was produced for many years in a large number of variants by Yamaha and then Escorts Limited in India without losing its resemblance to its progenitors. In addition to the RD and RS standards, Yamaha also manufactured small standards with stamped steel frames and rotary disc-valved motors such as the Yamaha FS1 , and step-through V-50 and V-80 designs. Its Enduro trail bike

14385-525: The podium with first, second and third place in the All Japan Autobike Endurance Road Race that same year. Early success in racing set the tone for Yamaha, as competition in many varieties of motorcycle racing has been a key endeavor of the company throughout its history, often fueled by a strong rivalry with Honda , Suzuki , Kawasaki , and other Japanese manufacturers. Yamaha began competing internationally in 1956 when they entered

14522-414: The predominance of circuits with added "jumps" on which bikes can get airborne. Motocross has another noticeable difference from road racing, in that starts are done en masse, with the riders alongside each other. Up to 40 riders race into the first corner, and sometimes there is a separate award for the first rider through (see holeshot ). The winner is the first rider across the finish line, generally after

14659-604: The previous year in diary format, from the 24-hour Solo World Mountain Bike Championship to the Isle of Man TT. It was listed No. 1 in Amazon's sales figures for celebrity autobiographies in November 2015, with his main autobiography being No. 10. October 2016 saw the release of Guy Martin: Worms to Catch featuring Martin's thoughts on the past year and upcoming challenges. He has subsequently published further titles, We Need to Weaken

14796-408: The project. By the beginning of 1992, just under 12 months after starting to work on the project, IAD came with an initial version of the car. The car's design was undertaken by Takuya Yura, and was originally conceived as a single seater; however, Yamaha requested a two-seater vehicle and a tandem seating arrangement was suggested which was in keeping with Yamaha's motorcycle expertise. This resulted in

14933-655: The public by legal orders from the local legislature. Two championships exist, the first is the International Road Racing Championship , the other is the Duke Road Racing Rankings . The latter accounts for the majority of road races that take place each season, with an award for the highest placed rider. Prominent road races include the Isle of Man TT , North West 200 , and Ulster Grand Prix on long circuits. Ireland has many road racing circuits still in use. Other countries with road races are

15070-407: The race and bad language and criticism directed toward a member of PTR in a magazine interview. Martin received considerable public support over both the nature and timing of Buckmaster's comments, coming as Martin was still recovering from the crash, but in a subsequent interview Buckmaster defended what he had said, arguing he was not slating him and stating Martin had no issue with the comments. In

15207-744: The racer is trying to beat the fastest speed ever achieved by that style of motorcycle and type of engine for a timed mile. The pre-eminent event for motorcycle LSR is the International Motorcycle Speed Trials by BUB, held on the Bonneville Salt Flats annually (near Labor Day). Motorcycles are classified based on body style, i.e. how much streamlining is incorporated. They are further classified based on engine size in cubic centimeters (cc's) and based on fuel type (gasoline versus any modified fuels). In vintage racing riders race classic motorcycles that are no longer competitive with

15344-419: The relatively small number of UJMs ( Universal Japanese Motorcycle ) at the start of the decade to a much larger set of offerings in several clearly defined markets at the end of the decade. The XV750 of 1981 featured an air-cooled V-twin four-stroke engine and cruiser styling, and was one of the first Japanese cruiser style motorcycles. By the end of the 1980s Yamaha had offered dozens of cruiser styled bikes in

15481-461: The rider slide more easily and safely on their left foot when needed as they lean the bike to the left while sliding through the corners, though riders can often perform what is known as a "feet-up slide", using throttle control, body lean and steering alone to power-slide through the turns, without sliding on their steel shoe. Hard-packed tracks are generally referred to as "groove" tracks, loosely packed tracks are called "cushions". The composition of

15618-469: The rules are the same for both cushion and groove tracks, riders are allowed to modify the tires by cutting some rubber off the tire grooves for improved traction, but are not allowed to add materials to the tires. Speedway racing takes place on a flat oval track usually consisting of dirt or loosely packed shale , using bikes with a single gear and no brakes. Competitors use this surface to slide their machines sideways ( powersliding or broadsiding ) into

15755-405: The same profile as their roadgoing counterparts. The overall appearance, seen from the front, rear and sides, must correspond to that of the bike homologated for use on public roads even though the mechanical elements of the machine have been modified. Supersport racing is another category of motorcycle road racing that employs modified production motorcycles. To be eligible for Supersport racing,

15892-466: The search for a more competitive team, Martin joined Hydrex Honda for the 2007 season. The end of 2009 saw Martin leave Hydrex for Northern Ireland-based Wilson Craig Honda, but since November 2010, Martin has raced for TAS Racing (known as Relentless Suzuki , then Tyco Suzuki from 2012 to 2014, and Tyco BMW from 2015 to present), the team run by the Neill family also based in Northern Ireland, and with

16029-404: The start line. Triumph said rain meant it was not possible to create the required-consistency across the 11-mile course necessary to undertake the attempt. On 18 September 2016, Martin had hoped to complete a required 300 mph trial run before attempting to set a new world record. A mile into the run the machine lost traction on the damp surface, veering off the steered path and tipping over on

16166-473: The starting signal, the riders accelerate down a straight, quarter-mile long paved track where their elapsed time and terminal speed are recorded. The rider to reach the finish line first is the winner. This can occur upon purpose built venues (e.g., Santa Pod), temporary venues (e.g., runways or drives of country houses). In addition to "regular" motorcycles, top fuel motorcycles using Nitromethane also compete in this category. The UK National Sprint Association

16303-426: The third International race of the season, the Ulster Grand Prix. After taking third in the Dundrod 150 Superbike race, Martin repeated the result in the feature UGP Superbike race, held over eight laps, but he ensured he would not be without an International win in 2009 when he won a second Superbike race, just over a tenth of a second in front of fellow Lincolnshire rider Gary Johnson. He also placed fourth and fifth in

16440-428: The track is an oval, all turns to the left only, and only a rear brake is allowed. On the TT courses, there must be at least one right hand turn with a jump being optional, front and rear brakes are allowed, but the same "Class C" tires are required. Although not mandated, most flat track racers wear a steel "shoe" on the left boot which is actually a fitted steel sole that straps onto the left boot. This steel shoe lets

16577-406: The track surface is usually decided by the race promoter and track preparation team, the latter using various methods and materials including combinations of clay, decomposed granite, sand, calcium (to allow the surface to retain water moisture) and other materials. An optimum "groove" track will have enough moisture to be "tacky", without being slick, and will develop what is called a "blue groove" as

16714-417: The two-stroke line and four-stroke twins at a time that other Japanese manufacturers were increasingly moving to four cylinder four-stroke machines, a trend led by Honda in 1969 with the legendary CB750 four-stroke four-cylinder cycle. In early 1969, Yamaha added reed-valve induction to its previously piston-ported designs to produce the twin-cylinder RD and single-cylinder RS families, with variants in

16851-529: The week Martin's engine gave up after coming onto the pit lane in the 2nd 600 race. When putting the bike into gear at the end of his 2nd pit stop during the Senior race his chain snapped, meaning he ended up with another DNF. Martin regrouped to claim the Southern 100 Championship on the Billown road course in July, after finishing second on no less than three occasions – 2005, 2006 and 2007 – before heading to

16988-529: The world, typically in desert nations. Such events include the Silk Way Rally , Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge , and Rallye du Maroc . These events often run alongside "car" rallies (under the FIA ). Track racing is a form of motorcycle racing where teams or individuals race opponents around an oval track. There are differing variants, with each variant racing on a different surface type. Indoor races consist of either:

17125-602: Was Fabio Quartararo and Franco Morbidelli , continuing in 2023. The 2022 world superbikes team was Toprak Razgatlıoğlu and Andrea Locatelli , continuing in 2023. Yamaha's Superbike World Championship team since 2016 has been delivered by Crescent Racing. The first Yamaha rider to ever win a World Superbike was Ben Spies in 2009 . Then in 2021 , Toprak Razgatlıoğlu managed to become world champion. ( key ) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap) Season still in progress. Yamaha produced Formula One engines from 1989 to 1997 (with

17262-506: Was an innovative 750cc four-stroke inline four cylinder model. It was the first motorcycle to feature a five-valve cylinder head, something Yamaha became well known for. It also featured a cylinder block canted forward at 45 degrees, and a box-section steel perimeter frame. Production of the FZ continued until 1991. Another bike that was performance-oriented was the Yamaha RX-Z , introduced in 1985 as

17399-409: Was conducted on oval race courses with surfaces composed of wooden planks. By the early 1930s, board track racing had fallen out of favor, and into eventual obsolescence. Auto Race is a Japanese version of track racing held on an asphalt oval course and seen as a gambling sport. Drag racing or sprints is a racing venue where two participants line up at a dragstrip with a signaled starting line. Upon

17536-585: Was considered to be Yamaha's most successful year in terms of points accrued, apart from the Podium achieved by Blundell in Spain the Yamaha engine in the Tyrrell Car achieved 4 Fifth Place finishes and 1 Sixth Place finish over the course of the season, However, due to the inconsistency of the engine over the years they were often unreliable and were usually regarded as not very powerful, the Yamaha powered engine never secured

17673-560: Was formed in 1958. The president was Donald Campbell until his death in 1967, succeeded by former Vincent employee and sprint-record holder George Brown , who retired from sport in 1966 on reaching the 55 age-limit for the ACU competition licence. Brown's machines included the V twin Vincent-engined, normally-aspirated Nero , and the supercharged version Super Nero . Sprinting occurred on disused and re-purposed airstrips, and on

17810-453: Was in the midst of an economic downturn, which made Yamaha believe there would be no customers for the car, and so the project was cancelled in 1994 after many delays, with only 3 prototypes in existence. Beginning in 2013 Yamaha revealed a series of concept cars developed in collaboration with Gordon Murray Design utilizing the company's iStream design process. The first concept, named the MOTIV,

17947-407: Was not for him, he secured an apprenticeship as a truck fitter with a Volvo centre, John Hebb Volvo. He also worked for his father, who at the time was self-employed, running a truck maintenance business. filming commitments for The Boat that Guy Built led to him losing his job with his father, but immediately went into town to apply for another truck job. He currently works for Moody International,

18084-583: Was originally scheduled for August during the FIM event at Bonneville Salt Flats in the United States. Competing in the Division C (streamlined motorcycle) category, the Triumph Rocket Streamliner is 25.5 feet long, powered by two turbocharged, methanol fuelled, Triumph Rocket III engines, enclosed in a carbon Kevlar monocoque. A documentary about the attempt was made for Channel 4. His August 2015 crash at

18221-638: Was replaced by the DT models. Not until 1976 would Yamaha answer the other Japanese brands with a multi-cylinder four stroke of their own. The XS-750 (and later 850) a 750cc triple cylinder machine with shaft final drive was introduced almost seven years after Honda's breakthrough bike. Yamaha's first four-cylinder model, the XS-1100 followed in 1978, again with shaft drive. Despite being heavier and more touring oriented than its rivals it produced an impressive string of victories in endurance racing. The 1970s also saw some of

18358-467: Was revealed at the 43rd Tokyo Motor Show in 2013. The MOTIV was a compact city car designed to accommodate gasoline engines, EV drivetrains, hybrid systems, and range extenders. The second concept, the Sports Ride Concept, was revealed at the 44th Tokyo Motor Show in 2015. The concept was a lightweight two-seat sports car that drew inspiration from the company's motorcycles. The third concept,

18495-601: Was spun off in 1955, being incorporated on 1 July 1955 in Japan, and was headed by Genichi Kawakami. Yamaha's initial product was a 125 cc (7.6 cu in) two-stroke , single cylinder motorcycle, the YA-1 , which was a copy of the German DKW RT 125 . The YA-1 was a competitive success at racing from the beginning, winning not only the 125cc class in the Mt. Fuji Ascent, but also sweeping

18632-481: Was the first female mechanic in the BSB paddock before leaving to start a family with two-times TT sidecar winner, Patrick Farrance . Martin and his siblings attended every Isle of Man TT from their births, until their father Ian crashed his Yamaha FZ750 whilst racing at Oliver's Mount , Scarborough in 1988, when Guy was aged 7. After recovering from the resulting broken hip, Martin's father did not race again, but worked as

18769-574: Was the progenitor of this series. The RZ-350 , the largest displacement model, was a popular hot-rod bike of the 1980s and continued to be sold in some countries into the early 1990s. Throughout the 1980s the motorcycle industry gradually went from building a few basic but versatile models designed to work well in many roles, to offering many more specialized machines designed to excel in particular niches. These included racing and performance street riding, touring, motocross racing, enduro and recreational off-road riding, and cruising. Yamaha branched out from

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