Originally Posted by Roby44
West wary of Qatar conditions
07.03.2008
Australian Anthony West has reservations about getting on the bike in the opening round of the MotoGP season in Qatar this weekend.
West, 26, said his Kawasaki machine was feeling good but admitted performances in the lead-up to the maiden event of 2008 haven't filled him with confidence.
He also joined the chorus of riders expressing concerns about the icy conditions at the desert track's historic night race.
"I'm not feeling as good as I'd like as my lap times in testing weren't what I was hoping for," West said.
"I'm quite concerned about the temperatures at night in Qatar as it was so cold and that affected the tyres more than I was comfortable with."
"But we still made loads of big improvements to the bike. I'm really pleased with the feeling I'm getting from the new chassis and the set up generally has really come together over the testing season."
Like all riders, though, West wants to get on track and pit himself against his rivals.
"I'm keen to get back to racing now. Physically, I'm feeling fit and a lot stronger so I'm ready to get on with it," he said.
Kawasaki's competition manager Michael Bartholemy said there had been hiccups in the off-season.
"We didn't have the easiest time at the tests last week," Bartholemy said.
"Anthony in particular suffered a lack of confidence in the grip available, as it was so cold that he struggled to get the tyres up to temperature."
"We weren't the only team to struggle with this but, on the positive side, it seems the night temperatures are now rising a bit so hopefully we will see an improvement in available grip for the race."