TV host Guy Martin banned from driving over speeding

TV star Guy Martin has been banned from driving for six months after he was twice caught breaking the law on his Honda motorcycle.

The 44-year-old former racing driver, who presented Speed With Guy Martin, has been prosecuted by Northamptonshire and Leicestershire police forces after he triggered speed cameras.

Through letters from his lawyers, Martin admitted riding his bike at 46mph (74km/h) on the A50 near Leicester when the limit was 40mph (64km/h), and going at 78mph (125km/h) along the A43 near Brackley when a temporary 50mph (80km/h) limit was in place.

Court papers show Martin reached at least 12 penalty points on his licence and accepted that he must now serve a six-month driving ban.

The TV presenter achieved 17 podium finishes at the Isle of Man TT Race during his career as a motorbike racer, and he has become known for his pursuit of speed records.

In 2016, he made a bid to break the two-wheeled world land speed record, and he succeeded in setting world records for the fastest tractor, speediest soapbox, and fastest speed on a gravity-powered snow sledge.

The first speeding offence was on 15 July in Leicestershire while riding his Honda motorbike along the A50 at just before 17:00 BST.

The second offence happened at 09:24 on 19 March, when Martin was riding the same bike on a temporarily speed-restricted A43 in Brackley near HS2 roadworks.

"He apologises to the court for his offending," a partner at law firm Chattertons wrote on Martin's behalf.

"He will not be opposing the totting up six-month disqualification."

Martin's prosecutions were brought through the single justice procedure and dealt with in private by a magistrate.

An official said Martin was sentenced at Loughborough Magistrates' Court last week in private, with an order to pay a total of £1,329 in fines, costs and victim surcharges.

He was also disqualified from driving for six months, after his lawyers indicated he would not seek to avoid a ban by arguing exceptional hardship and was happy for the case to be dealt with in the absence of an open court hearing.

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