MASTER AND APPRENTICE
Since Bruce Anstey’s last race on the Island, two years ago, he has spent a lot of time undergoing treatment for a third bout of cancer.
Even he feared at some stage that it would be unlikely he would recover sufficiently from multiple tumours in his lung and spine to race a motorcycle again – never mind win in his comeback on the Mountain Course.
But there is no under-estimating the unassuming New Zealander’s inner-strength and determination.
Despite a further setback at the beginning of this year, Bruce was relieved to ultimately get the green light for a return to racing on the course he has graced with outstanding success since making his debut a quarter of a century ago.
Loyal sponsor Clive Padgett always promised there would be a bike ready and waiting for him upon his return, and the RS250 Honda he had ridden to back-to-back wins in 2016 and 2017 was there prepped and waiting.
The amazing Kiwi topped the opening practice session with a lap of 116mph and he continued to set the pace for the remainder of a truncated, weather-hit week of qualifying.
The fact that many hours of practice were lost because of continued unsuitable conditions probably played into Anstey’s hands, as he didn’t need to learn his way round the 37.7 mile course like some.
There were some concerns about his physical ability to maintain the
