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

Guy Martin is also a successful TV presenter

Guy Martin has confirmed that he will miss this year's North West 200 and Isle of Man TT road racing meetings.

Martin is currently preparing for a major mountain event in North America, which will clash with the TT.

The Lincolnshire man, 34, will complete in the Tour Divide event which is regarded as being one of the world's toughest mountain biking events.

Eleven-time TT winner Ian Hutchinson will compete for Martin's Tyco BMW team at the North West 200 and the TT.

Hutchinson earned three victories at last year's Isle of Man event.

Martin has no plans to road race prior to his Tour Divide attempt and the Tyco BMW team is not actively looking to replace the Lincolnshire rider at the North West or TT meetings.

"I'm not done with motorbikes and if I race on the roads again this year it will be with the TAS (Tyco BMW) team," said Martin, who is also a successful TV presenter.

Martin sustained five broken vertebrae, a broken sternum and several fractured ribs in a huge crash while leading the Dundrod 150 Superbike race in August.

He recovered quickly from his injuries, signing himself out of hospital just a few days later, following surgery.

Martin, who has achieved 14 Ulster Grand Prix victories, caused controversy at last year's North West 200 by strongly criticising the event's 8.9-mile course, saying he was "bored to the back teeth of riding through chicanes".

The rider'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.