2016 Ulster GP: Anstey makes it 12 wins with Supersport victory

Bruce Anstey took his 12th Ulster Grand Prix victory on Saturday when he took the opening Supersport race win on his Valvoline Racing by Padgetts Honda. The Kiwi started from pole position and was never headed as the race was stopped as the leaders started their fifth lap. It came at a good time for Anstey as his near 2.5s lead had been whittled down to just 0.8s by a charging Ian Hutchinson.

“I knew I had to try and make a break from Hutchy as the Yamaha has slightly better top end,” said Anstey afterwards. “I got my head down and went for it in those first couple of laps although it was a little bit exciting with the damp. It was only really the first couple of corners though and I did take Deer’s Leap a gear lower than normal after being caught out there last year. After that, conditions were perfect. We didn’t get much time on the 600 in practice and I was getting quicker with each lap so it’s great to take another UGP win.”

With drizzle falling, the race was delayed slightly and the threat of rain continued on the opening lap, which saw Anstey take a 1.4s lead from Hutchinson, Dan Kneen, Dean Harrison and Conor Cummins. Michael Dunlop was an early retirement though, pulling into the pits as the rest of the field started their second lap.

Second time around and Anstey extended his advantage over Hutchinson to 2.2s with Harrison now up to third ahead of Cummins, Kneen and William Dunlop. The weather was improving all the time with the sun now shining and the gap between the leading pair remained constant on lap three. Just one second covered second to fourth but Gary Johnson was another high profile retirement, the Lincolnshire rider pulling in whilst lying ninth on the ECC/Burdens Triumph.

Heading into lap five and Hutchinson was on the move, lapping at 128.511mph and bringing Anstey’s lead down to just 0.6s, whilst Cummins was also making progress as he overhauled Harrison for fourth. They still had Kneen and Dunlop for company but the red flag soon came out due to a non-serious incident at Joey’s Windmill.

The race was subsequently declared at a result with Anstey getting the win from Hutchinson, Cummins, Harrison and Kneen. Dunlop took sixth with Peter Hickman, Derek McGee, Christian Elkin and Dan Cooper completing the top ten.