Kiwi Bruce Anstey took TT win number eight in Monday's Supersport 1 race.
The opening race of the day was red flagged on lap two after Derek Brien’s fatal accident at Gorselea.
Prior to the stoppage, Cameron Donald had set out like a scalded cat, the Wilson
Craig Honda rider 1.25 seconds up at Glen Helen on the opening lap, but Yamaha
mounted Michael Dunlop hit back to take the lead on the run up to Ramsey. He
didn’t get much further however, retiring at the Gooseneck.
Relentless by TAS Suzuki’s Guy Martin was another top rider who failed to make
the end of the opening lap, coming off at Creg-na-baa, fortunately unscathed and
able to ride back to the Grandstand on the back roads.
Donald re-inherited the lead and was a massive 13.55 seconds up at the end of
lap one. His team-mate William Dunlop, of whom a real charge was expected,
didn’t start the race after an engine failure on the sister Wilson Craig
machine. Ryan Farquhar was also ruled out of another days racing following his
spill during Friday’s practice session, though he is now discharged from
hospital.
Donald had caught the Hondas of Keith Amor and John McGuinness on the road by
Ramsey on lap 2, when the red flags came out.
On the re-started three lap race at 1pm, Michael Dunlop and Guy Martin re-joined
affairs, but the morning’s pattern resumed, Cameron Donald leading at Glen Helen
by just 0.17 seconds from Dunlop, with Bruce Anstey third for Padgetts Honda.
Dunlop again hit back up the west coast run to go ahead by 1.5 seconds at Ramsey
as Gary Johnson assumed third spot ahead of Anstey.
The big decision all riders had to make was whether to stop at the end of lap
one or two.
Michael Dunlop, Gary Johnson and Connor Cummins went straight through at the end
of lap one, while most other top runners opted to take their one stop.
Donald dropped around six seconds in the stop, and Guy Martin’s bike struggled
to re-start costing vital seconds.
Dunlop lead by six seconds but in a repeat of the first race retired at Ballig
Bridge after Ballacraine on lap two, as Johnson assumed the lead, 38 seconds up
on Donald and 40 on Anstey.
By Ramsey, Johnson’s lead was 37.77 seconds, about as long as the pitstop would
take, and it looked like a nip and tuck battle with Donald, then Anstey and
Martin third and fourth.
The crucial stop for Johnson at the end of lap two took 37.8 seconds from
entering the pitlane to exiting, handing a slender lead back to Donald who’d
already rocketed through onto his final circuit.
As the leaderboard reshaped itself at Glen Helen on the final lap with all he
stops factored in, Johnson had tumbled to fifth spot, 14 seconds of the lead of
the Aussie, with Anstey moving up to second followed by Keith Amor and Guy
Martin.
That soon became a lead for Anstey, as leader Donald retired at Slieau Curn just
before Kirk Michael, with Connor Cummins also sidelined.
That was how it finished, TT win number eight for Anstey, with Keith Amor taking
a brilliant second despite still carrying his injuries from practice, and Guy
Martin holding onto third from Johnson by 1.2 seconds.
Dan Kneen finished top local in sixth place on his Yamaha.
