Bruce Anstey comes in for another nose-dive landing at Ballaugh bridge during the Superstock TT race. The 42-year-old had just won the Supersport event earlier in the day by the second smallest margin of victory in the history of the TT, a mere .77 seconds over Cameron Donald. His TT wins tally is now up to nine.
Despite having photographed road racing for the last few years this was my first time witnessing road bikes going airborne, at least intentionally. While Ballaugh bridge is a relatively slow part of the course, the added element of a jump alone was enough to provide a substantial challenge to me as a first-time visitor to the TT.
Monday’s racing at the 2012 Isle of Man TT started with the Monster Energy Supersport TT race, as the 600’s got their first of two races around the Mountain Course this fortnight. Race 1 for the supersports proved to be a thrilling four laps for TT fans, as Bruce Antsey brought his Kiwi A-game to the race, making ground on the field throughout the race, and winning with just .77 seconds separating him from Aussie Cameron Donald — one of the closet margins ever in TT history.
Rewind back to the 2011 Isle of Man TT and the Monster Energy Supersport 2 race, where a very soggy set of TT riders nearly mutinied against Race Direction for wanting to start the race under torrential conditions. With only the fastest of the riders making it onto their second lap, better discretion prevailed as the red flags came out and called the race cancelled due to weather (aiding that decision was the retirement of Gary Johnson and injury-free crash by Keith Amor).
With the top riders collected at Ballacraine, there were more than a few live cameras on the gathered motorcycles, which brings us to this video of Guy Martin, John McGuinness, Cameron Donald, Bruce Anstey, Michael Dunlop, Dan Kneen, and Chris Kinley of Manx Radio discussing the day’s ride. Trading stories on how racer nearly killed themselves on the past lap and a quarter, what surprise sus in this video isn’t the content, but instead the carefree attitude each rider has towards how close they came to meeting their maker. A funny breed these TT racers are (don’t even get us started about the Dunlop brothers).
The weather reared it’s ugly head again for the Isle of Man TT, this time showcasing the island’s unusual propensity for microclimates. While the lowlands baked in the sun (yes, this author got a nice sunburn on Friday), the Mountain saw rain clouds, standing water, and even hail at one point. This caused the main event of the fortnight, the Senior TT, to be delayed for several hours, which put-off many of the sun-blasted fans, but by the time the final TT race got underway, it was under perfect Manx afternoon conditions.
With all of the top riders showing to be in top form for the 2011 TT, good bets could have been placed on any of them. John McGuinness looked again on form after last week’s Dainese Superbike TT race win, noticeable more comfortable in the paddock. Contrast that with Guy Martin, who always a bridesmaid and never a bride, had just one more opportunity in the 2011 Isle of Man TT to find his first ever race win. With eyes on them, and the other top riders, the Pokerstars Senior TT got underway.
After getting rained out on Wednesday, the Isle of Man TT took advantage of one of its contingency days, and set to racing on a cold but fairly sunny Thursday. Keith Amor surely was enjoying the better weather, as he found himself sliding down the tarmac before the first running of the second Supersport race was red flagged yesterday.
A handful of riders were favored for the top step on the podium in the 600cc class, and they would have four laps to sort out who it would be: King of the Mountain John McGuinness, win-less Guy Martin, or Race 1’s winner Bruce Anstey, just to name a few.
Despite raining last night, Monday’s Isle of Man TT Monster Energy Supersport race started under promising skies, as the sun was mostly out through the cloudy skies. Though John McGuinness won the weekend’s Dainese Superbike TT, the Padgetts Motorcycles’ rider was not a favorite to win this year’s Supersport races, though still considered a strong competitor. Instead eyes were on Michael Dunlop, Cameron Donald, and Gary Johnson, with Guy Martin always a crowd favorite.
With racing starting well enough, it sadly did not last long as the race was red flagged as the race leaders entered into Ramsey. Though several competitors had crashed in the first lap, news soon spread that Derek Brien had crashed and died on the extremely fast Gorse Lea section of the course, where speeds are in excess of 140 mph.
With the Isle of Man TT officials giving riders a chance to restart the race, several crashers were given a second opportunity to tackle the Mountain Course with their 600cc machinery, one of whom was local hero Guy Martin. Though off to a rocky start, find out how the restarted Monster Energy Supersport Race unfolded after the jump.