Martin apologises for North West criticism

Tyco BMW's Guy Martin publicly apologised to North West 200 event organiser Mervyn White following comments he made during Thursday's practice about the Triangle circuit. Martin stated to the BBC that he was “bored to the back teeth” about riding through the circuit's numerous chicanes. This led to an outcry on social media, with over 300,000 people having commented on the BBC's Facebook post. Martin later explained that he was caught at the wrong time and his outburst was out of frustration. “I'd just got off the bike and I wasn't right happy with how everything was going, there was nothing wrong with the bike – it was just me getting my head around riding through chicanes. I don't like chicanes but it was in the heat of the moment and I let rip, but I'm sorry for the way that I said it, I'm sorry. I don't like chicanes but the event is mega; all the people involved, the folk that come and watch it.” Guy went onto say that the chicanes were a “necessary evil” in response to the safety reasoning for their placement. Mervyn White later joked that they should rename one of the chicanes after Guy. Guy's displeasure is hardy surprising; he's always stated his distaste for chicanes. So the public backlash is rather puzzling. The Lincolnshire rider will now have his attentions turned towards the last great bastion of no chicanes – the Isle of Man TT.

#news #roadracing