In his later teens his boss at the time, Tony Carton,[2][3] offered Finnegan the lend of a bike to try his hand at circuit racing.

A winner of 43 Irish road races since 1997, in addition to winning the 2000 Junior Newcomers Manx Grand Prix, Finnegan scored a podium at the 2005 Isle of Man TT where he became the fastest Irishman to lap the course at over 127 mph.

[4] At the 2007 Isle of Man TT, Finnegan brought back to racing at competitive level on the island the Italian MV Agusta brand in the TT Superstock race, where he missed the podium reaching the 4th place on board of an F4 bike.

[7] The following day, coroner John Leckey delivered the verdict, stating "Having carefully considered all the evidence in conjunction with the agreed position of the experts, I am able to conclude that, on the balance of probabilities, the loose banjo bolt was the cause of failure of the front brake.

"[11] In 2009, Adrian Archibald received the inaugural Martin Finnegan Trophy for achieving the fastest lap by an Irishman at the Isle of Man TT.