Bruce Anstey

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. on his way to victory in the 2015 Superbike TT == Isle of Man TT ==

Yamaha (1996-2002) 1996 Anstey made his Isle of Man TT debut at the 1996 event. 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 4th, 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, he was passed fit to compete in the opening Superbike race on Saturday 4 June. Despite his injuries, Anstey came home in 8th place on board the Honda RC213V-S. Supersport (Race 1) Anstey remained within the top 10 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 5th 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 4th place by the end of lap 1 having lapped at an average speed of . With the retirement of Peter Hickman, Anstey moved up to 3rd 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 5th place until the end of the 6 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 10th position, however he had reclaimed 8th 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 10, 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. 2017 TT results == North West 200 ==

Since his debut at the 2002 North West 200, Anstey had ten victories by 2017, making him sixth on the all-time winners list; his last victory being at the 2015 meeting. 2002 - 2003 His maiden victory came in 2002 when he won the Production race, 2006 At the 2006 meeting he won the first Supersport race and the Superstock race. 2007 The 2007 meeting proved to be his best year up to that date, winning a hat-trick of races. 2008 At the 2008 North West 200 Races; Anstey came 5th place in the first Superbike outing, followed by the runner-up spot in the Superstock race and 4th 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 3rd and 4th 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 6th place in the first Superbike race in 2010, Anstey retired in the opening Supersport 600cc race and the Superstock before recording 10th in the feature Superbike race and concluding the meeting with 3rd 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 3rd 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 7th place in his first outing in the Supersport category, followed with a 6th place in the Superbike race. 2013 Having qualified across the range of classes at the North West 200 in 2013, Anstey claimed 4th 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 4th 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 4th 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 2 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 4th 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 2nd aboard the Pagett's Honda behind Man of the Meeting, Peter Hickman. Anstey fared less well when he retired the Padgett's Honda RS250R at the end of the opening lap due to mechanical problems. feature race Anstey's luck returned for the Superbike feature race, which saw Anstey secure a maiden win in an International Road Race for the Honda RC213V-S. The race saw Anstey dicing at the head of the pack with up to five other riders in which lap records tumbled, and it finally came down to a two-way duel between Anstey and Hickman on the final lap. Taking the lead midway through the lap at Joey's Windmill, Anstey held on from Hickman to claim his first victory since 2015. In his second outing in the Supersport 600 cc class Anstey finished second behind Hickman, who claimed a popular hat-trick at the event. == Classic TT ==

Following changes to the Manx Grand Prix Races in 2013, the Classic TT became part of the newly revamped festival allowing established TT competitors the opportunity to compete on classic and post-classic machinery. 2013 Anstey campaigned a classic bike at the 2013 Classic TT. He failed to finish in the Bennett's 500cc Classic on which he rode a 1961 Manx Norton. during the 2015 F1/F2 Classic TT 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 1st 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 3rd 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. 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 2017 Anstey returned to the Isle of Man for the Classic TT Races in August, 2017. Practice saw him amongst the higher end of the field prior to his opening race, the Dunlop Classic Lightweight TT. On a Honda RS250R, Anstey lead the field from the start during the four lap race, breaking his previous year's lap record, becoming the first 250 cc rider to pass the 120 mph barrier, recording a fastest lap of . 2017 Classic TT results 2019 Having recovered sufficiently from the effects of his cancer treatment, Anstey made a return to racing at the 2019 Classic TT in August. From the start of the four-lap post-classic 250 cc race, Anstey took the lead bringing his 250 cc Honda into first place by a margin of 70 seconds over his team mate, Davey Todd. 2019 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. ==Pre-ride rituals==

On numerous occasions prior to races, a traditional New Zealand Haka has been performed for Anstey. He also received a Haka following his win at the 2015 Ulster Grand Prix. ==Helmets==

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

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==