Guy Martin special exhibition

Items from motorcycle racing star, author and television personality Guy Martin’s own personal collection have gone on display at the Grampian Transport Museum, in Alford, Aberdeenshire.  It is the first time that items belonging to Guy have gone on public display, and have already proved to be very popular with visitors.  

Guy paid a visit to the award winning museum back in 2011 making friends with local cycle and motorcycle racing enthusiasts, and was keen to display some of his own collection and share his passion for engineering.  

Amongst the items on display is one of Guy’s most treasured possessions, a 1942 Rolls Royce Merlin engine, used in both Spitfires and Lancaster bombers during World War Two.  The engine, which is in full working order, originally powered a Spitfire before being used as one of four Merlin engines that powered a Lancaster.   

Guy has loaned three of his prized motorcycles for display along with racing leathers and memorabilia.  The Martek Racing Motorcycle custom built by Guy and based on the Suzuki GSX 1000, is turbo charged with a bored 1277cc block.  The bike was used to compete in the famous Pikes Peak hill climb in Colorado in 2014.  Guy won his class in a time of 11m 32.558s and the chequered flag from the event accompanies the bike on display.  

Also on display is the 675 Daytona Triumph, again custom built and used by Guy whilst competing in the Supersport race at the legendary Isle of Man TT in 2015.
Completing a trio of Guy’s racing motorcycles is his most used and most prolific race-winning machine, which is now showing signs of wear and tear; his Suzuki GSXR 1000 K3 of 2003.

In a quest to smash the Gravity Racer speed record of 84.4mph, Guy teamed up with engineers from Sheffield Hallam University to design, build and race in his own Gravity Car in 2014. Hurtling down a mountain road on Mont Ventoux – part of the popular Tour de France route – Guy went on to set the new gravity racer record at an astonishing 85.61mph. Despite smashing the existing record, Guy sought to reach 90mph and in doing so lost control of the vehicle on its final run, crashing spectacularly. The gravity racer, in its crashed condition, will also be on display throughout the 2016 season.

You can find out more about the museum via the Grampian Transport Museum website, or if you simply want to take a good look at the exhibition, stick AB33 8AE in your satnav, and hit the road.