Northern Ireland’s Tyco Suzuki team has been forced to respond to speculation suggesting star rider and road racing superstar Guy Martin has split from the team.

The Lincolnshire rider missed most of last Saturday’s Relentless International North West 200 following a high-speed crash in the opening Supersport race.

Martin lost control of his Suzuki GSX-R600 machine on the fast approach to Black Hill at the uphill right-hander that follows the sweep through the railway bridge at Dhu Varren in Portrush.

He escaped serious injury but sustained a knock to the head and took no part in the remainder of the day’s action.

Yesterday, rumours circulating on motorcycle Internet forums suggested Martin had left the team just days before the 2012 Isle of Man TT races are due to get under way, but the Moneymore team has moved to quash the ‘unsubstantiated’ speculation.

A statement on the team’s official Twitter account read: ‘Despite unsubstantiated comments (gossip) on the Internet, Guy Martin is still very much part of the Tyco Suzuki team’.

Team boss Philip Neill also dismissed the talk, while Martin’s mechanic Danny Horne tweeted: ‘So Guy isn’t with Tyco Suzuki anymore – funny cos he’s asked me to go over early to the TT to prepare.’

Martin is establishing a reputation as one of the best riders never to have won a race at the TT, a statistic he will once more be aiming to put right on the Mountain Course this year.



.