RST Superbike TT Report - Anstey Draws First Blood of TT 2015
- Jun 7, 2015
- 3 min read
Bruce Anstey took victory in the curtain-raising Superbike TT after a race long scrap with Ian Hutchinson. The Valvoline Padgetts Honda rider came from a four-second deficit at the end of lap three to close the gap to the PBM Kawasaki rider to just 0.28 seconds by the fourth lap. The Kiwi got his head down over the next two laps to take the lead and extend it to over ten-seconds. He suffered a small scare on the final lap when he was caught unsighted by Michael Dunlop into parliament Square, but the damage on the clock was minimal.
This is Anstey's tenth TT win and his first on a Superbike to add to his record lap of 132.298mph from 2014. He'll have his sights firmly set on Friday's Senior TT now.
Ian Hutchinson looked strong throughout practice, setting a fastest time on the ZX-10R of 130.2mph. And he continued that form in the first half of the Superbike TT. The Bingley Bullet had got the holeshot at the start and had already closed the 30-second gap to Michael Dunlop and Gary Johnson on the road at Parliament Square on the second lap, having taken the lead by just over a second at the end of the first tour. Hutchy looked pinned over the next couple of laps, but a few spots of rain caught him out in the latter stages which forced him to button-off the pace a little. This is the Kawasaki rider's first TT podium since 2010 and his first since his horrific leg injury sustained at Silverstone that same year. He thanked the surgeons that got his leg back up and running following the race.
James Hillier took his first Superbike TT podium after a very strong ride from the Quattro Plant Muc-Off Kawasaki man. Hillier fell out of the podium spots late in the race, but crashes on the final lap saw him back up to 3rd. Some would say a gifted spot, but at the TT you've got to be 'there' all race long. He'll be a strong bet for a few more rostrums this week.
John McGuinness came into this race feeling fairly confident, and practice validated that. But he didn't look all that settled, the Honda Fireblade a little twitchy at places. He finished a respectable 4th, with William Dunlop completing the top five on the Tyco BMW.
William's team-mate didn't fair so well. Guy Martin, the peoples favourite, had to pull up at Ballagarey with mechanical woes on his BMW S1000RR after just a few minutes of racing. William's brother also suffered a nightmare start to his TT week.
Michael Dunlop had set the media abuzz with his departure from the Milwaukee Yamaha for the Buildbase BMW squad earlier this week. The Superbike didn't arrive on time for the first timed practice of the week, but a lap of 129.6mph on the Superstock bike showed that the Ballymoney rider was was on-course for great things. However, the lack of time on the Superbike proved a big hindrance for Michael and that showed as he was constantly fighting with the bike. Despite this, and despite a fairly slow first pit-stop, he'd found himself in 3rd and heading for the podium. That was until he crashed at the Nook on the final lap. Aside from a sore pelvis he was perfectly okay, but the bike took a fair beating. Gary Johnson also crashed at Guthries on the final lap, and he too was unhurt.
Two other riders, Scott Wilson, who was involved in the incident at the Nook, and Andy Lawson were taken to Nobles hospital, but did not suffer any life-threatening injuries.
The Nook crash led to the race being red flagged and the results going back a lap, seeing Michael Rutter a fine 6th, Dan Kneen 7th, Peter Hickman 8th, Lee Johnston 9th and David Johnson 10th.
Full results from the Superbike TT cane be found here:
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