The Grampian Transport Museum is delighted to confirm some star exhibits for the 2016 season, which gets underway on Friday 1st April.
With work on the new visitor reception nearly complete, the attention of staff and volunteers at the popular north east attraction has now turned to completing the exhibition for the 2016 season. Some of the key exhibits for the season ahead have been loaned to the museum by motorcycle racing legend and best selling author & broadcaster Guy Martin.
Guy visited the museum in 2011 and made friends with local cycle and motorcycle racing enthusiasts. He is keen to exhibit a selection of his own collection of machinery and share his passion for great engineering with museum visitors.
Fans of his TV programmes may well remember his prized possession – a 1942 Rolls Royce Merlin engine – used initially in Spitfires during the second world war. The display of Guy’s Merlin will be a first for the GTM; this particular engine was last used in a Lancaster bomber and is still in full working order.
A Martek Racing Motorcycle will also be displayed this season; based on the Suzuki GSX 1000, the turbo charged bike boasts a bored 1277cc block and was custom built by Guy to compete in the famous Pikes Peak hill climb event in America, in 2015. The bike, guided by Guy’s usual dare-devil attitude, won an award and the winners flag will accompany the machine.
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 Mann 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.
Curator, Mike Ward, is looking forward to presenting the Guy Martin Collection to visitors this season “Guy is an inspiration to our Young Engineers club, who follow his record attempts and engineering with great interest. The links to the Young Engineers F24 electric racers and Guy’s gravity racer are clear to see. Guy’s passion for engineering is well known – to be able to share that with our visitors in 2016 is very exciting!”
Grampian Transport Museum would like to extend sincere thanks to Guy for his generous loans and also to the Shore Porters Society who collected the items from storage in Lincolnshire.
