MOTORCYCLE racer Guy Martin roars into his ninth Isle of Man TT this week insisting "I'm as well prepared as I've ever been."
The Kirmington speedster has 13 podium finishes to his name at the most famous road racing event of them all.
But that precious first ever win on the island still eludes him – although you wouldn't know it from the lorry mechanic and part-time television personality's demeanour.
Ahead of another tilt at glory, the 31-year-old told the Telegraph: "It's not been a bad start to the season and obviously I want to win one at the TT but you can only do what you can do.
"I'm as well prepared as I've ever been and I'm probably fitter than I've ever been.
"So we'll see, but you can never be too confident can you? There's so much that could go wrong in this game.
"I race push-bikes more than motorbikes now and that makes me fitter for the motorbike racing.
"You don't need to be especially fit to race motorbikes – you're just sitting there really – but it can't do any harm, can it?"
Practice for the prestigious event began on Monday on the island ahead of Martin's first shot at ending his duck on Saturday, in the Dainese Superbike contest.
That race over six laps of the famous 37-mile circuit is followed by four more opportunities next week.
And after recording victories at the Ian Watson Spring Cup and Cookstown 100 events this season, Martin is in confident mood – despite a wash-out at the North West 200 this month.
He added: "The North West was bad for everyone because you get a load of spectators over there to watch it, but then the rain comes and it's not really anyone's fault is it?
"If anything, it helped my preparations for the TT though – we had a fair bit of time on the bikes practicing.
"We had a few little issues and it's better off sorting them out at the North West than it would have been at the TT.
"We've come across a new tyre combination and we like that a bit better, and we've made a few changes to the Supersport bike as well.
"So we didn't race but it was still definitely worth going and we're in decent shape ahead of the big one."
Keep track of Guy Martin's quest for TT glory at thisisgrimsby.co.uk/sport
