Anstey takes eighth Isle of Man TT race win

Bruce Anstey took his eighth Isle of Man TT win in this afternoon’s Supersport race which had to be restarted after a fatal crash involving Irish rider Derek Brien.

Anstey finished ahead of Keith Amor in second with Guy Martin in third and Gary Johnson and John McGuinness completing the top five finishers.

Incredibly the Kiwi rider wasn’t happy with his riding performance on the Padgetts Honda CBR600RR despite winning from Amor by eight seconds and claiming the fastest lap of the race at 126.59mph on his final lap of the three lap race.

Anstey said he had been riding ‘like a wuss’ adding: “I wasn’t getting the corner speeds I wanted – it didn’t feel quite right out there. But you’ve got to keep going; keep at it and keep going. With the 600s you never know what’s going to happen.”

For Amor second place was a brilliant result having spent three days in hospital following a crash at Quarterbridge in practice on Friday.

The race was stopped when the leaders were more than half way around their second lap when Irish racer Derek Brien crashed at Gorse Lea.

Unlucky Michael Dunlop lead both parts of the race before being sidelined both times with mechanical problems.

ACU issues statement on death of Derek Brien

Following the red flag during the first run of the Supersport 1 race, the following statement has been issued.

“ACU Events Ltd regrets to announce the death of Derek Brien, 34, from Co. Meath in Ireland who was killed during the first Supersport race at the 2011 Isle of Man TT Races following a high speed accident at Gorse Lea. The race was immediately red flagged following the incident.

“Derek was an experienced road racer who first competed on the Isle of Man in the Manx Grand Prix in 2007 and competed in the TT Races in 2009 and 2010. He had a highest TT place of 13th in the 2010 Supersport 1 race. Derek was single with a partner, Sarah. The ACU wishes to pass on their deepest sympathy to Derek’s family and friends.”

Jim Parker, Managing Director, ACU Events, commented: “Derek was a very talented road racer and achieved a number of notable career highlights including his Manx Grand Prix victory. He will be sorely missed.”

The Coroner of Inquests has been informed and investigation into the circumstances of the accident is under way.