Tough day at the office for Relentless Suzuki
It was a disappointing day at the office for the Relentless Suzuki team in the opening race at the Centenary TT.
Bruce Anstey’s race was unfortunately over almost before it even started when an ignition amplifier [which is used to run the Motec ignition system] gave up the ghost forcing the Kiwi to pull over at Crosby just six miles into the race.
Adrian Archibald was then left to fly the Relentless Suzuki flag, and the Ballymoney man battled hard in difficult conditions on the opening laps. At the end of lap one, with a standing start lap of 123.811mph in damp conditions, Archie slotted into 7th position and it was there he stayed for the duration of the race.
His fastest lap of the race was recorded on lap four at 124.611mph, which disappointed the three-time winner who struggled with the handling on his K7 GSX–R1000 Superbike.
Archibald said:
'I knew at the end of lap two when I pitted for fuel that Bruce was already out so I wanted to do my best for the team.'
'Unfortunately I struggled a bit with the handling, which stopped me from pushing any harder. I had a handful of moments out there today, but with a few adjustments I’m sure we can be fighting for a podium in the Senior TT on Friday.'
Anstey added:
'We made some significant changes to our suspension set-up before today’s race and when I went down Bray Hill for the first time I knew the bike was good. I really put my head down and went for it but as I came out of Union Mills the bike went onto three cylinders and I had to park it at Crosby.'
'It’s disappointing, but that’s the TT for you. I’m now looking forward to tomorrow and the Superstock race where I’ll be looking to make it five international race wins on the trot on the GSX-R1000 Suzuki.'
Philip Neill said:
'It’s a disappointing day for us as a team, but it’s hard to legislate for a problem like Bruce encountered and getting let down by a part that costs about £30 is frustrating.'
'We had been promised factory support from our suspension suppliers and that hasn’t happened so far this week, which I’m also disappointed about, but we will make further changes for both riders and hopefully we can do the business on Friday.'
'The next two races [Superstock and Supersport] are strong events for Relentless Suzuki so with a bit of luck we’ll be popping some champagne before the end of the week.'