Mar-Train racing withstood a difficult fortnight at this year’s Isle of Man TT races as they made only their second trip to the road racing mecca with the task of developing the all new Yamaha YZF-R1M on behalf of Yamaha UK.

Dean Harrison had already put the innovative sports bike on the top step of the podium at Oliver’s Mount earlier in the season but the unique characteristics of the thirty seven and three quarter mile TT circuit brought about a completely new challenge for the Lisburn outfit. The team worked hard with Ohlins and Yamaha throughout the two weeks however and consistently improved their set up as shown by Harrison’s lap speed progression.

In the opening Superbike race the Bradford man had to make an unscheduled pit stop which dropped him to 31st position but a lap of 127mph was a solid starting point. One day later and the team improved to 13th position in the Superstock race with a fastest lap of 128mph but it was the final outing of the week which finally rewarded Harrison and the team for their efforts. In a restarted Senior TT the twenty six year old managed a lap of 129.256mph from a standing start before improving again on lap four to an impressive 130.025mph clinching 11th place and giving Yamaha their first ever 130mph lap over the mountain course.

Harrison had been hoping to challenge for victories in the Supersport class after achieving two fourth places in 2014, a run of terrible luck however resulted in the affable West Yorkshire man retiring from both races. In stark contrast Harrison’s team mate for the Supersport races, Gary Johnson, scorched to two top five finishes. Johnson led the early stages of the opening encounter from Harrison in a memorable one-two for the team and eventually gave Tim and Sonya their first TT podium finishing in third place. The thirty four year old improved his lap speed to 126.557mph in race two but was unable to repeat his trip to the winner’s enclosure this time around finishing in fifth.

Team Principal – Tim Martin

“It has been a tough couple of weeks for us as a team, the challenge of competing on the most challenging road race circuit in the world on a completely new machine was always going to test us but the terrible luck Dean had in the Supersport class was hard to stomach. I really felt for him but he was extremely professional and worked hard all week, that 130mph lap in the Senior was impressive, it was a milestone lap for Yamaha and proved how much potential the bike has. Gary was sensational on our R6 and his podium on Monday probably hasn’t sunk in yet. To achieve a podium at the second attempt is something I am very proud of though.”

Karl Radley – Motorsport Co-ordinator, Yamaha UK

“What a fantastic end to a tough 2015 TT! We are so pleased with the finish in the Senior race, as the result was the culmination of a lot of hard graft put in behind the scenes and determination from Dean to keep going despite all the set backs this week. 11th place and a 130mph lap is an awesome achievement and Dean showed ‎true grit. It also showed that in it’s debut TT, the new YZF-R1 has the potential to be a very competitive machine. We will be making sure that come TT 2016, Dean and Mar-Train Racing have every chance of being on the podium. Well done to Dean and the whole team”

Rider – Dean Harrison

“What can I say, that wasn’t the TT I was hoping for but you can’t legislate for what was plain bad luck on the six hundred. The R1M was always going to be a challenge and the lack of practice had us on the back foot, we kept chipping away though, had three finishes out of three and finally found a setting for the Senior restart. The bike was better from the word go and my confidence just grew from there, it was really nice to put a decent lap in at the end, to do the first 130mph on a Yamaha was something we can take away from the event. We need some more testing but once we get a few things ironed out the bike is going to be a race winner for sure.”

Rider – Gary Johnson

“I really enjoyed riding the little R6 this week, we had no time on the bike but credit to the team they were still able to give me a competitive package. We were quickest in the speed trap and if we had more time to make a few little adjustments I am sure I could have challenged for wins. It has been great working with Tim and the team and I am chuffed I could give them their first TT podium. Hopefully we can do something again in the future.”