Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/524688
IN THE WIND P30 ANSTEY BAGS A BIG BIKE TT WIN N ew Zealander Bruce Anstey took an enormously popular victory in the opening Super- bike TT at the Isle of Man on Saturday, June 6, as defending Superbike TT champion Michael Dunlop crashed out. The Kiwi and his Padgett's Honda CBR1000RR overhauled long time leader Ian Hutchinson on the PBM Kawasaki on the fifth lap to bag his 10 th TT victory and his first in the premier Su- perbike category. Joining Antsey and Hutchison to take the final spot on the podium was Quattro Plant Kawasaki's James Hillier. Dunlop – who had sensation- ally walked out of his Milwaukee Yamaha contract after just one practice session at the 2015 TT to join the Buildbase BMW team – had been sitting in third place going into the sixth and final lap, the current Senior TT champion making a late charge only to crash with backmarker Scott Wil- son at the Nook. Dunlop was not injured, however Wilson suffered a broken collarbone. The crash saw the race red-flagged, with only the top six completing the full race distance. An emotional Anstey was clearly relieved to finally bag the Super- bike TT win, a trophy he has come so close to taking but has eluded him on every occasion. "This is the one I've been wait- ing for," he said. "I've won 250cc races, Supersport and Super- stock, but never this one, and I've finally got it. We had two re- ally good pitstops and we gained a couple of positions, and the fifth and sixth laps I just went as fast and as smooth as possible to bring the bike home." Hutchinson's second place was very nearly a dream victory for the man who has spent the last five years recovering from an enormous crash at Silverstone in 2010 that saw him almost lose his left leg. The 'Bingley Bullet' led for much of the encoun- ter, posting an opening lap of TWO TIME BROTHERS Ben and Tom Birchall took their second ever Sidecar TT victory when they won the opening three-wheeled encounter in record time on June 8. The Birchall brothers led home multi-time TT victors John Holden and Dan Sayle by 25 seconds, with Conrad Harrison and Mike Aylott com- pleting the podium. Pre-race favorites Dave Molyneux and Ben Binns led the first lap but retired before the second circuit, leaving the Birchalls to fend off Holden and Sayle over the remaining two laps. The Birchalls sealed their second TT win with the second fastest ever lap of the TT cir- cuit by a sidecar with a 116.060 mph flyer on lap two, eventually crossing the line 25 seconds clear of Holden and Sayle. Rounding out the top five were the Ian Bell/Carl Bell and the Alan Founds/Tom Peters outfits. Rennie Scaysbrook Bruce Antsey kicks off the Isle of Man TT with a win.