VOL. 52 ISSUE 23 JUNE 9, 2015 P31
130.959 mph, but a searing
131.333 mph lap from Anstey on
lap four swung the momentum
back to the New Zealander, giv-
ing him an advantage he would
not relinquish.
"I got away good and settled
into it without pushing too hard,"
said Hutchinson, "but on lap four
down the Conk Y Voddy straight
the rain flags were out and it
was pouring up the visor, and
when you've had 30 operations
and you're going into a sixth
gear flat out bend with slicks
on in the rain on a Superbike it
makes you think twice. So that
backed me off a bit, but I gave
it everything I had in the last two
laps with Bruce but he won. I'm
happy to give it to him, he's only
been racing here 50 years so he
deserves it…"
Hillier's third place came after
Dunlop crashed on the final cir-
cuit. The Quattro Plant Kawasaki
rider led for a section of the first
lap but dropped back to a battle
for fourth with John McGuinness
and Conor Cummins.
"I got my head down and I
could see I was catching Mc-
Guinness so I knew I was on
a good opening lap," he said.
"But going through Kirk Michael
a stupid pheasant was on the
road and unsettled me a bit. On
lap five and six I couldn't quite
tag onto Bruce [Antsey] and Ian
[Hutchison], but I was safe in
fourth until Michael [Dunlop] had
a problem in the end."
Fourth went to McGuinness
from his Honda Racing team-
mate Connor Cummins with
BMW's Michael Rutter complet-
ing the top six.
THE BULLET BITES BACK!
Ian Hutchinson's return to form
was confirmed when he took
out the first Supersport TT on
Monday, June 8. Hutchinson,
riding for The Prodigy singer
Keith Flint's Team Traction Con-
trol Yamaha outfit, took the lead
early from Gary Johnson on lap
one and gradually stretched out
an advantage over Bruce Anstey
to be 7.723 seconds ahead, with
Johnson taking third place. The
Supersport victory was Hutchin-
son's ninth TT victory and his
first since his near career ending
leg injury suffered back in 2010
at Silverstone.
Tears flowed in the post race
press conference, as Hutchin-
son told the story of five years
of rehabilitation that was now
capped off with this TT win.
"There's so many people
I have to thank—surgeons,
doctors, family and friends, all
people that helped save my leg,"
he said. "This was a bit of a last
minute deal as I was supposed
to be on the MV [Agusta], but it
just wasn't going to be ready in
time… I know Keith Flint loves
the Isle of Man so this is very
special."
Rennie Scaysbrook
(Above) Antsey was pumped on his
first ever Superbike TT win.
(Right) Ian Hutchison earned an
emotional Supersport victory, com-
ing back from a leg injury that took
five years of recovery.
PHOTOGRAPHY
BY
PACEMAKER
PRESS
INTL.
