Retro Rewind: Bruce Anstey's first Isle of Man TT Superbike victory in 2015 was just reward for 'Flying Kiwi'

The popular Kiwi made it a perfect 10 wins around the notorious Mountain Course on the Valvoline Padgett’s Honda, reeling in PBM Kawasaki’s Ian Hutchinson on lap four before taking over at the front after the second round of pit-stops.

Anstey put the hammer down on the final two laps to break Hutchinson’s resolve, setting the fastest speed of the race on the sixth and final lap at 131.797mph as he powered clear to win by almost 11 seconds on the 1000cc Fireblade.

Hampshire’s James Hillier secured his first Superbike rostrum behind Hutchinson after Ulsterman Michael Dunlop crashed out of third place at the Nook on the last lap on the Buildbase BMW, escaping relatively unhurt. Dunlop was due to ride the Milwaukee Yamaha R1 at the TT in 2015 but controversially ditched the bike and instead rode a BMW for Hawk Racing’s Stuart and Steve Hicken.

Morecambe’s John McGuinness, who set off at number one, could only manage fourth on the Honda Racing Fireblade ahead of the Tyco BMW of William Dunlop, while Michael Rutter completed the top six on the Penz13.com/Bathams BMW.

A jubilant Anstey was delighted to add a coveted Superbike win to his glowing CV at the major road races.

He said: “I can’t believe it really. I waited for ‘Hutchy’ to finish just to make sure. I’ve been waiting a long time for this and it’s unbelievable.

“I didn’t have too many pit boards out there and I wasn’t too sure on the last lap so I gave it everything I had.

“Michael [Dunlop] passed me and he must have been trying for the lap record or something [on the final lap] but I almost ran into the back of him at Ramsey and that put me off my rhythm, so I settled myself down again until the chequered flag,” he added.

“There was some traffic about on the last lap but the bike ran perfectly and I’m really pleased. I’ve won on a 250, 600 and Superstock bike but this is the one I’ve been waiting for.”

Runner-up Hutchinson, who was celebrating his first TT podium since his record-breaking five wins in a week in 2010, said he became ‘unsettled’ by some light rain showers during the race.

“I got away well and just tried to settle into it and was happy with my pace over the first couple of laps,” he said.

“The first pit-stop went well but then halfway through the race it started raining on the west of the Island which unsettled me a bit. When you’ve had 30 operations on your leg and you’re flat-out on a Superbike with slicks on in the wet, it makes you think twice.

“But for me to come back here and be so competitive… this is the first time I’ve raced at that kind of pace for five years now and I couldn’t expect too much, I can only get stronger from now on.”

The Superbike TT was postponed by a day due to high winds and took place instead on a Sunday.

An opening lap of 130.959mph gave Hutchinson the lead by 1.2s from Anstey, with Michael Dunlop moving up to fourth behind Hillier.

Hutchinson’s lead over Anstey was up to 4.4 seconds after a lap of 131.901mph on lap two, but Anstey’s fightback began in earnest on lap four as the 45-year-old cut the deficit to 0.2s after a lap of 131.33mph.

Following the second pit stop, the pendulum swung in Anstey’s favour as he began to edge ahead, opening a cushion of 5.5s at Ballaugh on the final lap and putting more daylight between himself and Hutchinson on the run to the finish.

Dunlop’s crash – after he tangled with a slower rider – brought out the red flag on the last lap.

With only six riders completing the full race distance at the time (Anstey, Hutchinson, Hillier, McGuinness, William Dunlop and Rutter) the remainder of the positions were decided based on the standings at the end of lap five.

Dan Kneen (Padgetts Honda), Peter Hickman (Briggs Equipment BMW), Lee Johnston (ECC/Burdens BMW) and Aussie David Johnson (Smiths BMW) finalised the top 10.