Ant West

[Pantah Jack]

Ummm.....didn't know it was a race.

So long as the boy wins a race or three who gives a ?????

Go for it Antastic

[patnicholls]

Not fully certain what to make of this news.

On one hand, Locatelli did very well last year with an LE bike and in a small team, so it could work out.

However the flip side is Chaz Davies' story from last year - he was supposed to get an LE bike with Campetella (who I would rate a small step higher up the grid than Matteoni) as was his team-mate Taro Sekiguchi.

You can check out what happened to Chaz on these stories (they're in order):

http://www.crash.net/feature_view~cid~6~id~8581.htm
http://www.crash.net/feature_view~cid~6~id~8744.htm
http://www.crash.net/feature_view~cid~6~id~8799.htm
http://www.crash.net/feature_view~cid~6~id~8879.htm

And well, the rest follows:
http://www.crash.net/driver_columns~lstid~30~cid~6.htm

Whatever, he had an absolute team-related nightmare and it cost him his GP career.

On the plus side, it seems Dorna have had a little helping hand in making sure Westy's on the grid with this move, so hopefully he won't endure the same kind of shambles that Chaz and Taro had last season.

[Pantah Jack]

Yep it is an interesting (read corrupt) caper in many ways. Ant told me the same thing happened to him in 2004 with the Freesoul guys promising a better bike than what he had in 2003. You will remember 4 podiums and a race win that year. So he turns up for 2004 and not only is it not a better bike but is the same bike he road in 2003......Just one of many examples of "shafting" guys like Ant, Chaz, etc etc have to deal with.

Would be nice to think that one day steps will be put into place to have a level playing field......
sorry I was dreamin'

Anyway time will tell as to what Ant actually gets his bum on......

[tha_jackal]

If motogp.com are calling it semi-factory LE machinery, then its likely to be just that. I cant help but feel that Chaz's chances of a better ride were pumped up ALOT (in 2006) by the british media, i.e crash.net... I think Ant will relish the improved machinery in 2007 and only move onward and upwards.. Like you say, time will tell, but if he DOES happen to get screwed over somehow, dorna will have to deal with another season of Westy's complaints and slanderings, and honestly, i dont think they want that ..

Peace..

[patnicholls]

Well every media outlet is subject to national bias, be it crash.net for Britain (which I certainly don't think is too bad), or mcn.au for the Aussies or Superbike Planet for the Yanks, etc.

With Campetella I think there were genuinely grounds for optimism for Chaz, Taro, and their 125cc riders last year. Campetella had been generally the top privateer team from 2002-4 and scored some podium finishes with Franco Battaini, Sylvain Guintoli and Randy de Puniet. Check the archive results, they did well, were top 6 in the championship with Battaini. They'd had a bit of a crap 2005 by comparison, but for 2006 had expanded to a four-rider outfit with a new 125cc team, and had a new main sponsor ('Ticino Hosting', who are an utterly lame Italian internet service provider, I wouldn't bother with them ) so their declaration that they'd have two LE bikes in the 250s seemed reasonable when they first said it as they've had the top private bikes before very recently. It wasn't just Brit bias, there were high hopes for the whole squad.

But as it turned out the year was a disaster. It became obvious from the first test that a second LE bike wasn't coming so Chaz was back to the bog-standard one like what he'd had with Aprilia Germany (although of course the competition had moved on slightly). Then Taro badly broke his leg at Jerez [exactly a year after he did in 2005 - what terrible luck] and Chaz got the LE bike. After a few races with poor results all round (Andrea Ballerini replaced Taro) Chaz was dropped after being taken out by Cluzel at Le Mans and Ticino Hosting disappeared off all the bikes as they'd not come up with the money they'd promised. Andrea Iannone, who'd been going pretty well on the 125 machine to my eyes, was also dropped and his non-scoring but financially-backed teammate stayed. Franco Battaini returned for financial reasons [Italian riders being preferable] after a shocking time in World Superbikes (does anyone remember he was there?) but didn't do anything, and neither did Taro when he returned from injury. Ballerini was the constant and was consistent with his results but not quick, and he's won a (wet) GP.

There are of course similar stories up and down the pitlane in every class every year. Something doesn't go right and it messes things up for a bunch of people. I've always liked Campetella as a squad, particularly when they had those lurid-coloured bikes (pink, yellow and black...yes!!!). They honestly had good intentions for Chaz, Taro, Andrea Iannone and Simone Grotzkyj. But we all know racing involves risks and when the sponsor you've risked things on doesn't pay, you're up the creek as you've got to pay for things like LE bikes. I hope things work out better for Taro, Fabrizio Lai and Pol Espargaro (he's good) in 2007 with them in terms of the money and results.

-----------------------------

Anyway...

Was just sounding out a note of caution for Westy fans, basically. If you're expecting this move to magically put him at the front every race, you'll probably be disappointed.

Matteoni are these days a private squad - last year they ran Baldolini (who's swapped seats with Westy for 2007; he finished 16th in 2006 with a best finish of 8th), Alessio Palumbo (who didn't qualify for several events) and Roberto Tamburini in 125s (who did just about nothing). In 2005 Mirko Giansanti - who like Alex de Angelis is one of the best guys never to win a 125 race - was midfield on them.

I love to see the private guys beat the factory ones and Loca's showing on the Toth LE bike was a breath of fresh air, but it's not guaranteed to be success for Westy by any means. That said, if he does well, it would be massive boost for both rider and team, and might shut you lot up about Westy and injustice

[tha_jackal]

Have to agree with everything youve said Pat!

Ant (like Chaz) has had his fair share of misfortune when it comes to rides not coming through etc. (Ant rode Chaz's 05 bike in 06!!)

Anyway, we can only wait and see and Im sure if the machinery is equivelant to Loca's of 2006 then Ant's results will improve, undoubtably..

Like you say, it just all depends on the bike coming through, along with sponsorship. He'll be testing at Catalunya early Feb and we'll all find out what bike he'll be riding and the times he'll be setting then and there

[tha_jackal]

Interview on motogp.com with Westy, good read, check it out..

[mx311]

I'll just say good luck Ant for 2007. Hopefully he can put together a strong year.

I haven't been able to find out if Ant's LE bike is the same as what Loca had last year or if it's the same as what Smrz had. I think it's the same as Smrz's (Loca's had some added bits for the factory) but now I work for the opposition I can't get exact answers from Aprilia sources. :

I also hope the rumours about potential team troubles are unfounded. :\

[tha_jackal]

I'll just say good luck Ant for 2007. Hopefully he can put together a strong year.

I haven't been able to find out if Ant's LE bike is the same as what Loca had last year or if it's the same as what Smrz had. I think it's the same as Smrz's (Loca's had some added bits for the factory) but now I work for the opposition I can't get exact answers from Aprilia sources. :

I also hope the rumours about potential team troubles are unfounded. :\

Im pretty certain its Locatellis, and motogp.com are calling it 'near factory' machinery, which sorta suggests that it may have some factory goodies added..

Oh and it's ok, most rumours youve come up with in the past have failed to come to fruition

p.s you know im just messin I hope those 'rumours' are unfounded aswell..

[tha_jackal]

Also Matt, do you know if Matteoni Racing have an official website??