News 25 May 2016

Anstey to race RC213V-S production bike at Isle of Man

MotoGP street bike to make surprise competitive TT appearance.

Source: Supplied.

Source: Supplied.

New Zealand hard man Bruce Anstey will enter a Padgett’s-built Honda RC213V-S at the 2016 Isle of Man TT on 28 May-10 June, event organisers have revealed.

The Valvoline Racing by Padgett’s Motorcycles team confirmed it will build a race-prepared version of the exotic V4 machine for the RST Superbike and PokerStars Senior TT races.

“It has always been a dream of mine to ride a MotoGP bike at the TT and this is as close as I will ever get,” Anstey commented. “Clive is the only person in the world who could put something like this together and if he says it is okay I am with him 100 percent.

“He hasn’t just pulled it out of the crate and said we are racing it. Clive and the team have done a lot of work to the bike to make it ready for the TT. The RCV should be an absolute weapon because it has loads of power but it feels as nimble as a 600.

“It should be stable too as it’s over two inches longer than a Fireblade, but is still really small and compact. I am really looking forward to seeing how it handles through the quick corners because it will be able to turn so fast.”

Valvoline Racing by Padgetts Motorcycles team boss Clive Padgett said that the idea for the incredible venture to race a production version of Honda’s MotoGP bike on the Mountain Course originally came from a customer.

“I was having a few pints of Guinness with a customer who had just bought an RCV from us and he said wouldn’t it be great to see one of them going down Bray Hill,” Padgett explained. “That planted the seed in my head and it has been germinating ever since.

“The TT is all about pioneering innovation and I really wanted to do something different. I see this as being in the spirit of what Mr. Honda did when he first came to the TT with his race bikes in 1959. I think this will bring even more global attention to the TT this year and that can only be a good thing.

“It has been a very difficult project to pull together. We have had to beef the bike up for the TT course and we can’t get anything off the shelf, so everything has had to be made bespoke. Things like the wheels, the K-Tech forks, the rear shocks, the brakes and the radiator guards have all had to be specially made.”

Anstey has yet to test the machine, but he will practice on it along with the Superbike-spec CBR1000RR that he rode to his first Superbike race victory last year.

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