KIWI RIDER OCTOBER 2017 VOL.1 | Page 13

Anstey sets Classic TT lap record I sle of Man TT racing legend Bruce Anstey has been back at the TT circuit but this time for August’s Classic TT. Riding the Padgetts Yamaha YZR500 Anstey broke the outright lap record twice in the Motorsport Merchandise Superbike Classic TT Race, the final race of the 2017 Isle of Man Classic TT, but had to settle for second place as Dean Harrison won by only sixteen seconds, and broke the race record in the process. At the end of the race, Anstey revealed that he’d had a few visibility problems, which caused him problems, “I had a bit of dust kicked up so I just took it easy on the first lap and then we lost time in the pits because we have to take on more fuel than the four-strokes. However, I was pretty determined on the last lap and just thought I’d go for the lap record.” Anstey’s lap record now stands at 127.496mph. Anstey also set a number of records on his way to repeating last year’s victory in the Dunlop Lightweight Classic TT Race. The flying Kiwi started by breaking the outright 250cc lap record on his opening lap, becoming the first rider to do a 250cc lap under 19 minutes which he followed up by becoming the first 250cc rider to post a 120mph lap on his second lap and he also broke his own race record by over a minute. Anstey took the race in a new record time of 1:16:50.072 (117.853mph). Michael Rutter’s final lap of 116.662mph saw him finish in the runner-up slot in 1:18.14.929 (115.723mph), with Ian Lougher third in 1:18.17.289 (115.665mph). In the winners enclosure Anstey revealed that the team had been specifically targeting the 120mph lap, “Clive [Padgett]’s done brilliantly getting the bike up to spec over the winter. We have been targeting the 120mph lap so it’s great to get it in the bag. I used Ian as a bit of a target and went flat out for the first two laps.”     KIWI RIDER 13