Guy Martin set to miss North West 200 and Isle of Man TT in 2016

Guy Martin has yet to win a race at the Isle of Man TT or North West 200

Road-racing star Guy Martin has indicated that he intends to sit out the North West 200 and Isle of Man TT international events next year.

Martin wants to compete in the Tour Divide mountain bike event in North America, which clashes with the TT.

"I want to enter the Tour Divide then maybe go back to the TT the year after," said the Tyco TAS BMW rider.

"I'm hoping to sort it with TAS that I can do all the racing I normally do except the North West 200 and TT."

The 33-year-old truck fitter and TV presenter made the comments in his new book 'When You Dead, You Dead'.

The clarification follows a cryptic message posted recently on the Grimsby man's own YouTube channel, in which he hinted that he was about to scale down his road-racing activities next season.

After weeks of considering his future, Martin claimed that he had made a decision on his plans for 2016 which would "upset a few people".

It appears that he is keen to continue racing at some of his favourite events, including the Southern 100 on the Isle of Man, the Armoy road races, the Ulster Grand Prix and the Scarborough meetings at Oliver's Mount.

It remains to be seen whether the Northern Ireland-based TAS Racing outfit will be agreeable to the plan, or whether they will seek a replacement for Martin to partner new signing Ian Hutchinson at two of the major events on the road-racing calendar.

Martin looks unlikely to compete at the North West 200 again after causing a stir this year by launching a live on-air rant over the number of chicanes around the 8.9-mile course, saying he was "bored to the back teeth of riding through chicanes".

Martin's outburst, for which he later publicly apologised to Race Director Mervyn Whyte, led many to believe that he had raced at the 'Triangle' circuit for the final time.

"I left Northern Ireland thinking, I'm not going back to the North West," confirmed Martin in his new autobiography.

The 11-times Ulster Grand Prix winner sustained five broken vertebrae, a broken sternum and several fractured ribs in a huge crash while leading the Dundrod 150 Superbike race in August.

Martin, who will celebrate his birthday next week, recovered quickly from his injuries, signing himself out of hospital just a few days later, following surgery.

His name appeared on the official entry list for next month's Macau Grand Prix in the Far East under the Tyco BMW banner, but he later withdrew from the event.