Shaun Anderson – Update

MY TT

bMF member Shaun anderson had a good TT. Read on...

We caught up with Superbike and Supersport racer, and BMF Life member, Shaun Anderson in the middle of this year’s TT – how was it?

This season has come together pretty well. We’ve got a dream deal with Hawk Suzuki with a GSX-R1000 superbike, and Wilcock Racing offered us a 600 Honda as well. That was all agreed in January/February, so we had time for plenty of testing before the TT. We did do a couple of club races as well and got some podium places, but really everything culminates on the Isle of Man.

n Any problems? The only blip was when I had a small crash on the Supersport at Oulton Park and broke my wrist about seven weeks before the TT. When you race the TT, it’s all a bit mad because the pinnacle of your season is May/June, so it’s a big rush, whereas in circuit racing it builds up gradually through the season.

n How has the TT been? Good so far. I was ninth in the opening Superbike race, and I’m just over the moon to get a top ten against riders like Peter Hickman – the bike ran faultlessly and I was able to ride consistently to get a Silver Replica. You have to ride within 105% of the top riders’ times to do that, so I’m very chuffed.

In the Supersport race we got 18th, having struggled a bit for speed, but it was a good solid run and I did beat John McGuinness

who was 19th – it’s never a bad day if you can finish in front of John. Then in the Superstock, we were battling between 9th and 10th but broke a chain on the last lap, so that was a DNF (did not finish).

n Any low points? Obviously the TT has its ups and downs, and this year has been tough in that we’ve had several fatalities. Those all affect you in some ways but particularly if the rider involved is a close friend. Racing can be a brutally hard sport at times, but all the racers are doing something that they enjoy, that they really want to do. That’s why we carry on racing at the TT, because it’s what they would have wanted.

n So what next, post-TT? I want to spend some time relaxing with my wife Sarah, because it’s been a very intense few months, testing and racing with two different teams. She’s had to put her own racing to one side because of my commitments, so I want to support her in some Supermono rounds. Like all racers, in the run up to TT, I’ve had to be a bit selfish, but now I’ll be able to support her.

The couple moved to the Midlands in January when Shaun joined Norton Motorcycles as a Technical Project Leader – Sarah, also a BMF individual member, is setting up a freelance photography business.

n And how are things at Norton? They’re good. We have strong investment from our parent company TVS and just launched the V4SV. I think it’ll be a couple of years before people see the fruits of our own new projects, which we’re working on now. The British motorcycle industry is having quite a boom, what with Norton’s major investment, Triumph, Royal Enfield and now Mahindra opening a BSA technical centre in Coventry. Interesting times are ahead.

Photographs by Philip Magowan/Double Red www.philipmagowanphotography.com

STOP PRESS

Shaun’s other results at the TT:

Supersport race – gear change difficulties. Stopped for adjustments, during the first lap. Still managed 25th overall, and a Bronze Replica, awarded for being within 110% of the winner’s time. Senior race – quickshifter fault from lap 2, but continued and finished in 12th place overall receiving a Silver Replica. Coming home with two Silver and two Bronze Replicas – not a bad TT!