Anstey is crowned – ‘The TT Superstock King’
Kiwi Bruce Anstey blitzed the opposition in near perfect conditions, taking his fourth TT Superstock victory in record-breaking fashion on the Relentless GSX–R1000 K7 Suzuki.
He threw the gauntlet down early in the race, putting 12 seconds on his main rivals, John McGuinness and Ian Hutchinson, after the opening lap on the Mountain Circuit, also setting a new race lap record in the process at 128.297mph.
On lap two the Relentless Suzuki rider increased that lead to almost 23 seconds over McGuinness, forcing the lap record to a staggering 128.400mph on a production-based 1000cc Suzuki. After pitting for fuel Anstey then took pole position on the road, continually increasing his lead over the four laps before taking the chequered flag after 1-hour 11 minutes and 56 seconds of racing in stifling hot conditions.
Relentless Suzuki teammate Adrian Archibald struggled again with handling problems, which unfortunately forced him to retire at the end of, lap one. The result was a broken steering damper.
Bruce Anstey said:
'I was brought up on production machines, but the Relentless Suzuki was just awesome today. If I’m a bit picky we could have had the handling a bit better, but I suppose we were doing Superbike-type lap times out there today, which shows how good the showroom GSX–R1000 Suzuki really is.'
'I was disappointed after yesterday, but I’m now looking forward to the Supersport race tomorrow. The wee 600 is really flying and a production double is all I’m thinking about at the minute. Thanks to the boys in the team who have worked so hard and also to Suzuki, Relentless and all our sponsors.'
'It’s nice to win a Centenary TT race.'
Archibald added:
'I knew as soon as I went down Bray Hill that my race was over. I couldn’t even hook 6th gear until I was over Ago’s leap. I was filling the road with the bike.'
'On a positive note, I have just put in a good solid lap in practice on my Superbike with significant suspension changes and it’s really a different machine. I’ll be much more confident for Friday’s Senior TT.'
Team Principal Philip Neill said:
'Bruce is a phenomenal rider. He may have his own individual personality at times, but I believe that after five years together, we have a perfect working relationship, which has obviously delivered tangible success. Once again Bruce has proven without doubt that he is the absolute master of the Superstock class taking 11 international victories since joining TAS Racing in 2003.'
'For us as a team there has been a lot of pressure coming to this year’s TT. We have always had good support from Suzuki, but never before have we had the support from them in this capacity; the attendance from both Suzuki staff and Japanese engineers from the factory is certainly confidence inspiring, but it also adds that air of expectancy!'
'Even though we have now won 12 TT races as a team, we can never rest on our laurels and success at the Centenary TT was paramount with the world media in attendance. I was more nervous today than I’ve ever been before a race, especially after the bad luck we had in the Superbike event yesterday.'
'I knew Bruce was well capable, but I wasn’t sure he could push the lap record up to 128mph, which is phenomenal on a production Suzuki. Pirelli’s support has been second to none and they also played their own role today and it’s thanks to them for that.'
'From a team point of view, I’m pleased that the scrutineers have verified that the TAS Racing GSX–R1000 Suzuki is totally legal. Hopefully that will silence the critics who feel we are a little bit to good to be true!'