A top British motorcyclist and TV personality has handed a “prized possession” used to complete a death-defying speed feat to a north-east motoring museum.
Champion racer and star of the small screen, Guy Martin, has asked the Grampian Transport Museum (GTM) in Alford to display his custom-build motorcycle – which he recently used to break a Wall of Death speed record.
The skilled engineer and mechanic is a regular at the Isle of Man TT festival and staff at the museum are delighted he has chosen their venue to house so many of his items.
The Englishman is said to be a huge fan of the GTM after visiting the facility in 2011.
Earlier this year, Mr Martin handed the centre a historic aircraft engine and three of his favourite motors to the museum, which took centre stage at their opening 2016 exhibition.
He stunned TV viewers in March by setting a new speed record at 78.15mph for a Wall of Death, which involves driving vertically along a barrel-shaped wooden cylinder.
He did so using the special motorcycle, which he built from scratch.
The feat involved the possibility of losing consciousness and dealing with huge levels of G-force – more than is experienced by fighter pilots.
The machine is made up of a 1976 Triumph Trident T160 three-cylinder 750cc engine built into a Rob North racing frame.
The vehicle went on display at the GTM yesterday.
Curator of the museum, Mike Ward, said his team were blown away that the racing star had chosen the museum as a home for so many of his machines.
He added: “Guy martin has decided to send his latest motorcycle. He set a world record for speed on a Wall of Death with it.
“He wanted the machine to come here to be added to his exhibition.
“It is absolutely amazing for the north of Scotland that this guy from Lincolnshire has adopted us for all his favourite machines. He is just a Lincolnshire loon really that knows his way around a tool kit.”
He described the motorcycle as a “classic racing machine that set a world record 40 years after its engine build date”.
