Guy Martin strikes Gold at Scarborough
Guy Martin brought the curtain down on his 2012 road racing campaign in style as he dominated at Scarborough to lift the prestigious Steve Henshaw Gold Cup for the eighth time.
The coveted trophy was won last year by Ryan Farquhar, who became the first rider from Northern Ireland to taste victory in the feature race at Oliver's Mount in North Yorkshire.
However, Farquhar - who has quit road racing - participated instead in a parade lap yesterday to mark his retirement, when riders including John McGuinness, Ian Hutchinson, Michael Dunlop and Jamie Hamilton all rode his KMR Kawasaki machines on a special parade lap to mark the occasion.
In Farquhar's absence, Tyco Suzuki star Martin blazed a trail at the tight and twisty Oliver's Mount circuit to give Ulster team TAS Racing its first Gold Cup success.
He took the honours by 1.8s from rising talent Dean Harrison with McGuinness third on Clive Padgett's Honda and Michael Dunlop fourth ahead of Hamilton on the KMR Kawasaki.
Martin was denied a six-timer at Scarborough when he was forced to retire from the lead of the David Jefferies Supersport race.
Afterwards, he said: "It's been a great day and nice to get my hands back on the Gold Cup for the eighth time.
"I enjoyed the battle with McGuinness and Co. for the win, which made it that little bit more special, and to give Tyco Suzuki their first win is mint.
"The boys always put in a big effort for me so they really deserve it and the big Suzuki never missed a beat.
"We almost, almost, had the clean sweep only for what I believe to be a tilt switch problem that caused the bike to cut out in the last race," he added.
"She was grand when I got her back up onto the fat of the tyre, but it was too risky to take a chance with it."
Michael Dunlop finished in a remarkable second place on his Sidecar debut at the event.
Dunlop, who was joined by Isle of Man TT-winning passenger Dan Sayle, took the runner-up spot in the third race behind TT legend Dave Molyneux after finishing fifth and seventh in his other two races.
The 23-year-old is keen to make his debut in the class at the TT.
