New Zealand rider Bruce Anstey has struck a rich vein of form going into the Isle of Man TT motorcycle races.
The former Wellingtonian, now based in London, looks capable of adding to his haul of four titles when the Isle of Man TT - which twists through narrow roads
on the island off the west coast of England - begins on Saturday.
He is the defending champion in the Superstock category.
Anstey, 36, riding for the Irish TAS Suzuki team, climbed the podium four times from five starts at the recent North-West 200 meeting in Northern Ireland, the traditional Isle of Man shakedown on a 13.84km circuit where top speeds reach about 320km/h.
This included a start-to-finish victory in the Supersport race on the new Suzuki GSX-R600, giving Suzuki their first international success in the class as well as race and lap records.
Since 2000, Anstey has had 13 podium finishes, and his four TT wins makes him New Zealand's most successful rider on the famous island course. His fastest lap at an average speed of 203.61km/h, set last year, is the fifth quickest of all time.
In practice on Saturday, he set the leading Superstock class time of 18m 46.75s over the 60.72km circuit on his 1000cc Suzuki. This compares well with lap record holder John McGuiness, who timed 18m 33.23s on his 1000cc Honda in the Superbike class.
McGuiness' lap record set in 2004 is 17m 43.8s at an average speed of 205.48km/h.
- NZPA
