Bruce Anstey
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Bruce Anstey | |
|---|---|
 Bruce winning the second 600cc Supersport race at the 2007 North West 200. |
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| Nicknames | |
| Nationality |  New Zealander |
| TTs contested | 12 (1996 - 2000, 2002 - present) |
| TT wins | 7 |
| First TT win | 2002 250cc TT |
| Last TT win | 2008 Supersport Junior TT, Race 2 |
| Podiums | 18 |
Bruce Anstey (born April 24, 1969 in Wellington, New Zealand), is a motorcycle road racer for Relentless Suzuki in Northern Ireland.
[edit] Career
He started racing in 1990 thanks to the hospitality of the Lloyd family of Birkdale Southport, who housed both Anstey and his girlfriend upon arrival in the UK. Anstey rode for the CR Racing team led by Eric Lloyd before jumping ship and joining a rival team. His first win came a year later at Mansfield. He made his Isle of Man TT debut in 1996 with CR Racing, and in 1999 he completed his first race in the Lightweight 250 class, finishing 7th. His first podium came a year later in the same race, where he finished 2nd behind Joey Dunlop. He achieved his first victory in the 250 cc class in 2002, finishing 3 minutes ahead of Simon Smith. In 2003 he had a win in the Junior 600, and in 2004 he finished on the podium in all the races he entered, including a win in the Production 1000 (now Superstock) class. He won the Superstock class in 2005 ahead of Ian Lougher, and in 2006 ahead of Ian Hutchinson. In 2007 he dominated the same race, winning by 40 seconds over John McGuinness, a feat in itself.
At the North West 200, Bruce has gathered up 9 wins from 2002 to 2007. In 2002 he won the Production race, and in 2004 he won the 600 Supersport race and the Production race. He was leading the Superbike race until the final lap when he crashed. In 2005 he won the rain affected Superbike event, and in 2006 he won the first Supersport race and the Superstock race. In 2007 he had his best year to date, winning a hat-trick of races that could have been more, had he not crashed out of the first Superbike event. While running in 2nd on the third lap, Bruce "highsided" at York Corner, and he was placed 2nd in the results because they were taken from the last completed lap. He went on to win the two Supersport events, and the Superstock event as well. He may well have increased his tally, but was unable to race in the main Superbike event, as his bike was damaged from the previous crash.
He has also had numerous successes at the Ulster Grand Prix. In 2003 he won the Production race, and in 2004 he enjoyed a hat-trick of successes in the Superbike, Production 600, and Production 1000 classes. In 2005 he did not win any races, but had 2 podiums. In 2006, Bruce was victorious in the Superstock class once more.
On 2nd June 2008 Anstey was disqualified and stripped of the Supersport Junior TT title in the Isle of Man race meet.
The Kiwi, riding for Relentless Tas Suzuki, had defied a heavy cold to win the race, but was disqualified following an inspection of his machine, which found the exhaust cam did not meet regulations.
However just two days later on Wednesday 4th June 2008 Anstey swept to victory in the second Supersport Junior race coming home in a time of 1'13:35.71 at an average speed of 123.041mph. On his second lap he also broke the lap record for the race with an average speed of 125.359mph.
[edit] Superstock Importance
Bruce has become very hard to beat on the Superstock machines, at all the International events. Winning in the Superstock class is important to Bruce and the Relentless Suzuki team because these bikes are roadworthy bikes, with only slight modifications being made for racing. When a Superstock bike wins, the fans take notice because they can actually buy an almost identical bike. This is important to Suzuki as when they are trying to sell their bikes, a good reputation goes a long way.
