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***Malcolm*** · 15-01-2015, 01:03 PM

Mar-Train Racing boss Tim Martin says he is confident roads hot-shot Dean Harrison is the ‘right man’ to deliver international silverware on Yamaha’s all-new YZF-R1 Superbike this season.

Bradford racer Harrison, who enjoyed a stellar 2014 after clinching his maiden Isle of Man TT success in the Lightweight race and sealing a standout runner-up result in the Superstock class behind Michael Dunlop, will spearhead Martin’s Yamaha UK-backed outfit after leaving RC Express Kawasaki at the end of last season.

The 25-year-old - who dominated the Southern 100 at Billown - had already established links with the Temple-based team last year, competing on the Mar-Train Yamaha R6.

Harrison penned an exciting two-year deal with the team as Mar-Train Racing withdrew from the British championship scene to concentrate on the international road races this year and Martin can’t wait for the new season to get under way.

“I’m confident I have the right man in the team and we’ll be starting on the front foot because our bikes are due to arrive in the next day or two and we’ll get stuck into them,” Martin said.

“Dean has fitted in really well in the team so far and Yamaha UK and Yamaha Europe think the world of him. He’s done a lot of press stuff so far and we couldn’t be happier with how everything is working out.

“We’re waiting on our bikes to turn up imminently and once we get those then we’ll get them built up and we’ll have a look at getting some testing organised,” he added.

“In that respect, we’re ahead of the game and we have good technical support from the factory.”

Martin has every confidence the new R1 will be more than a match for anything on the grid as the former British Supersport championship team devotes its full resources to the roads in 2015.

“I know the effort that has gone into this new Yamaha and I have every confidence the bike will be a match for anything. It’s only a matter of time before Yamaha is back in World Superbikes and this new bike is the beginning of that,” he said.

“I haven’t made any commitment yet to any of the early road races apart from the Scarborough Spring Cup meeting, which is the only one confirmed at this point.

“We’ll have a look at our options depending on how our testing schedule goes and made a decision from there.”

Ulster’s Michael Dunlop, who has yet to confirm his plans for 2015, is heavily linked with a factory Yamaha ride on the new R1.

The 25-year-old is understood to have passed up the chance to ride a factory-backed Kawasaki or compete on BMW machinery again in Stuart Hicken’s Hawk Racing team.

The Yamaha route now seems the most likely option for the 11-time Isle of Man TT winner, with support from Yamaha Europe and the possibility of backing from Milwaukee – the title sponsors of Shaun Muir’s MCE British Superbike outfit.

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