Bruce Anstey to race Honda RCV213V-S at the TT

Honda's 'road-going MotoGP bike' to race at the Isle of Man

Those of you who have missed the sound of a V4 at the TT (Norton notwithstanding) are in for a treat this year as The Valvoline Racing by Padgett's Motorcycles team has confirmed that New Zealander Bruce Anstey will be competing a race-prepared version of the Honda RC213V-S at the 2016 Isle of Man TT.

Can the RCV add to Anstey's TT tally?

"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," 10-time TT race winner Bruce says in the accompanying press release. "Clive Padgett is the only person in the world who could put something like this together and if he says it is OK I am with him 100 per cent. 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."

Padgett's is currently preparing the bike and it will be the first time an RCV replica road bike has been raced in anger. "We can't get anything off the shelf so everything has had to be made bespoke," says Clive. "Things like the wheels, the K-Tech forks, the rear shocks, the brakes and the radiator guards have all had to be specially made."

What are Bruce's chances of success on the V4? The RCV is a full-on race bike with lights so the chassis isn't in doubt. And the Padgett's Motorcycles machine will be running the race kit, so it will be chucking out 200hp. But, and this is quite a big but, Bruce will ride the bike for the first time during practice week. Not that he seems fazed.

"The RCV should be an absolute weapon because it has loads of power but it feels as nimble as a 600," he says. "It should be stable too as it's over 2 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."

Winning is a tough ask considering you now need to top 132mph average speed to be in with a chance of victory in the Senior. But, at the end of the day, who cares? It's an RCV at the TT and that's awesome! And Bruce on his day could well spring a surprise...

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