Road Racer of the Year 2016 - 4th
BRUCE ANSTEY 4TH
4th - Bruce AnsteyAverage poll score out of ten: 7.26Team: Padgetts Honda/MugenNW200 wins: 0Podiums: 0Isle of Man TT wins: 1Podiums: 0Ulster Grand Prix wins: 1Podiums: 2Macau Grand Prix: N/A
Bruce Anstey ended the main road racing season with an international win at the Ulster Grand Prix, edging out Ian Hutchinson in the opening Supersport race at Dundrod on the Padgett's Honda.
The Flying Kiwi's incredible unbroken run of finishing on the rostrum at each of the major international road races at least once every year since 2002 ended at the North West 200 in May, but Anstey capped the year with a hard-earned victory at the Ulster GP.
Riding the exotic Honda RC213V-S, Anstey topped the inaugural Superpole session ahead of the Superbike races at Dundrod, but the former lap record holder twice had to settle for a brace of close runner-up finishes behind Tyco BMW's Ian Hutchinson.
His challenge at the Isle of Man TT was thwarted following a spill during practice at Keppel Gate, which left Anstey feeling the worse for wear. It came after he also crashed out during the Superbike race at the North West 200, leaving the evergreen Kiwi struggling for fitness.
Anstey's decision to ride the MotoGP-derived RC213V-S at the TT caused a real stir and he battled to a respectable eighth place in the Superbike race before improving to fifth in the Senior.
He claimed his 11th TT victory following his first success in the clean emissions TT Zero race on the Japanese Mugen machine, leading home William Dunlop in the one-lap contest to move level with the great Steve Hislop on the all-time roll of honour.
Anstey will again lead the charge for Clive Padgett's famous Batley-based team on the roads in 2017, when he will have the option of riding the RC213-V plus Honda's much-vaunted new Fireblade.
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About the vote:
Thousands of votes were cast for the 2016 Crash.net Road Racer of the Year poll, where viewers awarded a shortlist of this season's most impressive riders with a mark out of ten.
