Bruce Anstey

Bruce Anstey (born 21 August 1969 in New Zealand) Anstey was signed to race for the Padgett's Honda Racing Team having previously ridden for TAS Suzuki Racing, Valmoto Triumph and DTR Yamaha. For thirteen consecutive seasons, from 2002 - 2015, Bruce Anstey secured a top three finish at the North West 200, the Isle of Man TT and the Ulster Grand Prix.

On 10 April 2018, Anstey stated that due to illness he would not compete during the 2018 racing season. He did however ride a parade lap on board a Honda RC213V-S during the 2018 Isle of Man Festival of Motorcycling in late August. Anstey announced a return to competitive racing in July 2019 stating he would compete at the Classic TT, and secured a victory in the 250 cc event.

In a BBC Sport interview in September 2021, Anstey stated his intention to resume racing at the 2022 Classic TT.

Racing career Anstey was inspired to take up a career as a motorcycle racer after watching Mike Hailwood's comeback victory at the 1978 Isle of Man TT Races. He made his competitive debut on Boxing Day, 1990, at the Cemetery Circuit, Whanganui in his native New Zealand, competing on a Suzuki RGV250.

Isle of Man TT Yamaha (1996-2002) 1996 Anstey made his Isle of Man TT debut at the 1996 event.

1998 Due to illness, Anstey did not participate at the 1997 TT, with his next appearance being at the 1998 races. Again featuring in the Lightweight and Senior races, Anstey took his Yamaha TZ250 to a 26th-place finish in the Lightweight and followed this by taking 20th in the Senior TT, being the third 250cc mounted rider to finish behind Gavin Lee and his fellow New Zealander, Shaun Harris.

1998 TT results at the end of Sulby straight on a Suzuki 1000cc machine. This speed value was registered by the on-board datalogging equipment and so is not an official record.

2006 TT results Anstey missed out on a podium place in the Supersport race finishing fourth, which was followed by another retirement in the highlight Senior TT.

2007 TT results Following over 150 miles of racing, Anstey came home in a time of 1'13:35.71 at an average speed of 123.041 mph. On his second lap he also broke the lap record for the race with an average speed of 125.359 mph. The Senior TT again proved a disappointment for Anstey, with him posting a retirement.

2014 TT results Lying in second place behind race leader Ian Hutchinson specially prepared by the Valvoline Racing by Padgett's Motorcycles Team. Various adjustments had to be made to the machine in order for it to withstand six laps of the punishing 37.73 mile Snaefell Mountain Course with such parts as the wheels, the forks, the rear shocks, the brakes and the radiator guards all having to be specially made.

Superbike TT After a check up at Noble's Hospital, Douglas, Anstey was passed fit to compete in the opening Superbike race on Saturday 4 June. Despite his injuries, he came home in eighth place on board the Honda RC213V-S.

Supersport (Race 1) Anstey remained within the top-ten for the first two laps of the opening Supersport 600 race. However, following the pit stops at the end of lap 2, he subsequently retired on lap 3 at Ballacraine.

Superstock TT Later, on 6 June, Anstey lined up on the Glencrutchery Road for the afternoon race, the Superstock TT. He retired at the TT Grandstand at the end of the opening lap.

Supersport (Race 2) & TT Zero

A rest day during race week combined with a spell at the Isle of Man's hyperbaric chamber paid dividends for Anstey. He took fifth place in the Junior TT, followed by victory in the TT Zero, his first triumph in that particular category. Although trailing at Ballaugh Bridge to Mugen teammate John McGuinness, Anstey took the lead after McGuinness had stopped to make adjustments, leading home William Dunlop and Jamie Hamilton.

Senior TT A further day's recuperation continued to aid Anstey prior to the Senior TT. Following a delayed start due to poor visibility, Anstey was lying in fourth place by the end of lap 1 having lapped at an average speed of .

With the retirement of Peter Hickman, Anstey moved up to third place at the pit stop at the end of lap 2, until he was displaced by John McGuinness at the end of lap 3. Anstey was then overtaken on corrected time by Dean Harrison following the second round of pit stops at the end of lap 4, holding fifth place until the end of the six laps.

Poor weather blighted the qualifying week at the TT, with competitors completing only a fraction of the required laps. A reshuffle of the race schedule was required with the first race day given over to qualifying and practice, meaning the traditional curtain raiser the Superbike TT moving to Sunday June 4.

Superbike TT Anstey formed up on the Glencutchery Road with the Honda RC213V-S, having by the standards of the week, enjoyed a reasonable qualifying period. Anstey took the RC213V-S across the line in 8th place on corrected time at the end of lap 1 involving himself in a close tussle with Conor Cummins and Michael Rutter. By the pit stops at the end of the second lap, Anstey had slipped to tenth position, however he had reclaimed eighth by the end of lap 3. During lap 4, Anstey was forced to stop at Ramsey Hairpin in order to inspect the rear of the machine following concern about the degradation of the tyre, and this saw him relegated to 13th place by the time he exited the pits at the end of the lap. Working his way ahead of Horst Saiger and Sam West during lap 5, Anstey began the final lap just outside the top-ten, holding 11th place. However, over the course of the final lap he was overtaken on corrected time by both Saiger and West and after of racing he brought his machine home in 13th place.

Supersport (Race 2) Poor weather continued to plague the racing programme forcing the itinerary of the meeting to be rescheduled. As a consequence of inclement weather on Thursday June 8 the second Supersport 600cc race, the Junior TT, was cancelled.

TT Zero Rescheduled for Friday June 9 and starting first on the road, Anstey lead the field for the one lap race from start to finish to claim his 12th TT win. his last victory being at the 2015 meeting.thumb

2002 - 2003 Anstey's maiden victory came in 2002 when he won the Production race,

2006 At the 2006 meeting, Anstey won the first Supersport race and the Superstock race.

2007 The 2007 meeting proved to be Anstey's best year up to that date, winning a hat-trick of races.

2008 At the 2008 North West 200 Races; Anstey came fifth place in the first Superbike outing, followed by the runner-up spot in the Superstock race and fourth in the second of the Superbike races.

2009 The 2009 North West 200 Races saw a return to the top of the podium for Anstey, with him claiming first spot in the opening Superbike race ahead of John McGuinness which was followed up by a third and fourth place in the Superstock and Supersport races, respectively. A brace of runner-up places followed in the subsequent Supersport races.

2010 Opening his account with a sixth place in the first Superbike race in 2010, Anstey retired in the opening Supersport 600cc race and the Superstock before recording tenth in the feature Superbike race and concluding the meeting with third in his second Supersport outing.

2011 The 2011 North West 200 was blighted by misfortune including inclement weather, an oil spill and a hoax bomb alert. Only one race was able to run before the programme was curtailed and in which Anstey claimed third place in a rain sodden Supersport 600cc race.

2012 Again the victim of inclement weather, the 2012 North West 200 saw further interruption to the racing programme. Anstey came home in seventh place in his first outing in the Supersport category, followed with a sixth place in the Superbike race.

2013 Having qualified across the range of classes at the North West 200 in 2013, Anstey claimed fourth place in the opening Supersport race on Thursday May 16. However, the weather was again the main talking point of the meeting, putting paid to the majority of the race schedule on Saturday May 18. This again saw Anstey take fourth spot in a rain blighted Supersport race.

2014 Anstey claimed the top spot on the rostrum at the first of the Supersport races in 2014 with an average speed of . However, this was his only positive in the meeting.

2015 The 2015 North West 200 Races again saw Anstey miss out on a podium position, coming home in fourth position. An improvement followed in the feature Superbike race when he claimed the third tier behind Alastair Seeley and Ian Hutchinson.

2016 At the 2016 North West 200, Anstey made a good start from a middle grid position in the opening Superbike Race. Dicing for a position within the top three, Anstey set a new absolute top speed record on the run to Coleraine at . Towards the end of lap 4, he crashed his Honda Fireblade at Church Corner as a result of running a wider line. As a consequence of the crash, the race was red flagged. This was the first time at the North West that Anstey failed to take a place on the podium.

Ulster Grand Prix Anstey has also claimed successes at the Ulster Grand Prix, taking the top step on the podium on 13 occasions.

2003 - 2010 At the 2003 Ulster Grand Prix, Anstey took his maiden victory, when he claimed the honors in the 1000cc Production Race. Building on his 2003 exploits, 2004 saw Anstey secure a hat-trick of successes in the Superbike, Production 600, and Production 1000 classes. Whilst failing to take the top spot in 2005, he did manage to secure two podiums. In 2006, he was victorious in the Superstock class once more. Further success belonged to Anstey at the 2010 meeting, securing another hat-trick to bring his winning tally to eight. This was Anstey's last appearance for TAS Suzuki and saw him sign off by obliterating the previous lap record, setting a new average lap speed of making him then the fastest rider on the fastest motorcycle racing circuit in the world.

2011 Having signed for Padgett's Honda, Anstey took a solitary victory at the 2011 meeting taking the winner's garland in the Superspport 600cc class.

2012 Again a single victory was all Anstey was able to secure at the 2012 UGP when he again came home at the head of the field in one of the Supersport races.

2014 Anstey's campaign at the 2014 event saw him take the honors once more in the opening Supersport race. He then enjoyed further success when he went on to win the blue riband Superbike race. Anstey's brace of wins saw him named 'Man of the Meeting'.

2015 At the 2015 Ulster Grand Prix, Anstey took the honours in the associated event, the Dundrod 150 as well as taking victory in the main event, in controversial circumstances. The feature event, the Ulster Grand Prix, was red flagged following an incident towards the end of lap 7. The race organisers decided to give the victory to Anstey, who had been leading at the end of lap 4, citing they could not take the standings after the fifth lap because some riders had not completed it when the red flags went up. Anstey secured victory over Ian Hutchinson who had been leading the race at the end of lap 5 (two-thirds distance). being reunited with the Honda RC213V-S. Having recovered from the injuries he sustained earlier in the season at the Isle of Man TT, Anstey took the runner up spot behind Hutchinson in both the Superbike races and victory in the opening (red flagged) Supersport event. Anstey concluded the meeting by taking fourth spot in the second Supersport race.

Anstey enjoyed renewed success, with a first and second in two of the three Supersport 600 cc races. In his first outing Anstey took a second aboard the Pagett's Honda behind Man of the Meeting, Peter Hickman.

As a consequence of various delays during the course of the day, racing finally got underway at 5pm with Anstey's Yamaha YZR500 pitted against Suzuki, Kawasaki and Yamaha Superbikes. Tussling with the pugnacious Dunlop at the head of the field, Anstey crossed the line in first place at the end of the opening lap with a time of 18:13.707 producing an average speed of 124.190. As the second lap progressed, Anstey began to secure the lead from Dunlop taking an increasing advantage into the third lap. However, Anstey was then black flagged as he approached Cronk-ny-Mona at the end of lap 3. The result of this being Anstey having to return to the pits with a loose left exhaust.

2016 Anstey enjoyed success in the Classic 250cc race, leading from start to finish. Campaigning a Padgett's Honda RS250R, he recorded a fastest lap of 118.74 mph breaking John McGuinness' lap record which had stood since 1999. Anstey is now the current lap record holder on the Snaefell Mountain Course in both two stroke categories, set at the Classic TT.

Anstey failed to make an impact in the Superbike Race. On board the Padgett's Yamaha YZR500 Anstey was lying in 8th place at the end of the opening lap behind a rampaging Michael Dunlop, who went on to break Anstey's lap record for the Superbike class (although Anstey's record for two stroke machinery still stands). Anstey made no impression at the head of the field, and retired on lap four at Glen Tramman.

2016 Classic TT results Race Position Time Speed Replica Sure Lightweight 250cc Classic TT 1st 1:18:04.437 115.982 Silver Motorsport Merchandise Superbike Race Classic TT DNF

2017 Classic TT results

Personal life Together with his partner, Anny, Anstey spends his time away from racing at his home in Cullybackey, County Antrim, having moved there from Windsor, or in New Zealand.

Anstey underwent an operation in 2019. In an interview with the BBC in September 2021, he stated that he believes the operation to have been successful, however he still has to undergo blood tests every three months.

Helmets Anstey is contracted to the Arai Helmet Company, his current helmet design is the Arai RX7-RC.

Awards Anstey (left) in 2016, after his investiture as a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit by the governor-general, Sir Jerry MateparaeIn the 2015 New Year Honours, Anstey was appointed a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to motorsport.

Bruce was inducted into the Motorcycle NZ Hall of fame on 15 May 2021.

Complete TT record

Classic TT +2019 Lightweight 250cc Classic TT12017 Lightweight 250cc Classic TT1 Superbike Classic TT12016 Lightweight 250cc Classic TT1 Superbike Classic TTDNF2015 Formula 1 Classic TT22014 Classic 500 TT3 Formula 1 Classic TT12013 500cc Classic TTDNF