Anstey quickest in first NW200 practice

Bruce Anstey was the fastest man on track at the North West 200 in last night’s (Tuesday) first qualifying on his Relentless Suzukis in the superbike, supersport and superstock classes.

The quiet Kiwi lapped the nine-mile road circuit in Northern Ireland in 4mins 28.892secs with an average speed of 120.039mph.

Despite his outright speed he failed to qualify for the superbike races as he didn’t complete enough laps, but will get another chance in Thursday’s practice.

This was only Anstey’s second time on the K7 GSX-R1000 and he reckons there is still more to come.

He said: “We’ve got new WP suspension so we are still dialling that in. I feel pretty confident on the superbike and I’m not too bothered if it rains on Thursday as we have done all the hard work tonight.

“I feel a bit stiff on the bike but I just need more track time to loosen up.”

He continued his dominant run in both the Supersport and Superstock classes. In Supersport he out-ran AIM Yamaha’s Steve Plater by 5.018secs and in Superstock he was 2.279secs clear of Alastair Seely on the NCT/Vanfit Yamaha.

Second qualifying takes place on Thursday, May 10, 2007 with roads closing at 5pm.