The first race days of TT 2015 got off to a bit of an inauspicious start – high winds saw the opening RST Superbike race postponed until Sunday, and the Sidecar race pushed back until Monday. Spectators had to make do with practices when the wind allowed – still fun to watch, but nothing on the excitement of the main event!
It’s safe to say that anticipation was high by the time Sunday morning finally rolled around, with the island buzzing with excitement for a high-speed, high-thrills race – and that’s what they got!
Bruce Antsey, fresh from some amazing performances in the qualifiers, powered to his 10th Isle of Man TT victory after a nail-biting six laps. Ian Hutchinson led the pack for most of the race, but fourth lap pit-stops and a truly storming final lap from Antsey – the day’s fastest at 131.977mph – saw the New Zealander smash the race record with a 10.97-second winning margin for the Padgett Honda team.
Michael Dunlop looked like a safe bet for third, but a crash put him out of the race and saw James Hillier steal the final podium spot 48.5 seconds behind Hutchinson – fortunately Dunlop wasn’t seriously injured, although Scott Wilson, the other rider involved, came away with a shoulder injury.
Hopefully the thrilling races can continue unmarred by the bad weather as the week progresses – keep checking insidebikes for the rest of our coverage!