Ant West

17 May 2008
KAWASAKI MEET SNIFFLES THE SNAKE
Dinner last evening in the Kawasaki hospitality unit was certainly made a little more exciting by the arrival of a very special guest, Anthony West's pet snake, Sniffles.
Sniffles has made the journey from Ant's home in Belgium to partner the 26-year-old in his racing activities at Le Mans this weekend. Although some of the Kawasaki crew were quite taken with the Kingsnake, many, including John Hopkins, were not so keen.
John's wife Ashleigh and Marketing Coordinator Maria Serrat were quick to try their hand at 'snake charming' Ant's slithering friend, who is housed in a small cage in the Aussie's motorhome during the race weekend.
Ashleigh said: "He is so cool, I don't think anyone else in the paddock has a pet like Sniffles. I really like him, he is cute in a snakey kind of way, but I don't think John is very impressed – he'd much prefer something more conventional like a dog."
Sniffles has resided with Anthony for around a year, and has reappeared recently following a three-month disappearance in the apartment that Ant and his PA Ben Skepper shared in Austria.
The metre long snake has taken his place as Ant's new travel companion following the sad death of former partner, Ninja the Iguana.

17 May 2008
RACE ACES HEAD TO BEST WAY KAWASAKI
During their stay at Le Mans for the fifth round of the MotoGP championship, Kawasaki racers John Hopkins and Anthony West visited local French dealer 'Best Way Kawasaki' for an autograph session.
The Kawasaki Racing Team feel it's important to support such events, as ultimately it's the fans that make it possible for the team to race. 'Best Way' Kawasaki is located just outside of the Le Mans circuit, making it an ideal opportunity for the racing duo to meet with supporters of the manufacturer.
The two MotoGP pilots took time out of their busy race weekend schedule to attend the dealership, signing items and answering questions for local Kawasaki fans and customers.
A lotto draw took place, in which John and Anthony picked three winners. First prize for one lucky fan was a pair of tickets for this weekend's race. The two runner-up prizes were photo opportunities with the MotoGP stars.

I wonder if they will do something like that here this year??


I hope Ant leaves that snake at home though :eek:

So Edwards tenure in MotoGP just goes on and on and on now that it looks as though hes getting Wests gig. Whatever will there be to talk about when hes gone ?!

I think Westy will score a WSS or WSBK gig next year. He has already proven that he can win over there, but, just can't make the Motogp machine work. He is one of many that have struggled with the 800cc bike, Melandri, Elias, Guintoli, de Angelis are all struggling, so he is in good company.

Westy 3rd @ Mugello FP1 :D :D swear it wasn't damp ... ;)

On another forum I visit we are trying to come up with a nick name for Ant.. :s mokin:

Something with a bit of ommph to spur him on..

You know like ..The Doctor, The Kentucky Kid, Texas Tornado......

Suggestions welcome....

WESTicles!

http://www.theyellowcommunity.com/im...ilies/LMAO.gif

http://www.theyellowcommunity.com/im...ra/x_blush.gif http://www.theyellowcommunity.com/im...ra/x_blush.gif


http://www.theyellowcommunity.com/im...x_innocent.gif What ever do you mean!!

The Green Ant was being thrown around last year.. But i fear something along the lines of James Ellison II or The Backmarker might come about after the season he's having so far :s :(

Back marker!!! Poor Ant...But true...

Thats why he needs something to gee him up and give him some confidence..

Perhaps we should blind fold him and tell him ..Ant its bloody rainning again out there. and send him out..

To be honest, I think rain for Ant this year is worse than the dry! With his massive lack of rear traction, he fears for his life in wet conditions.. Its a lose/lost situation im afraid.. Surely the egg-heads down at team green will sort something out soon...

Hopefully.. That is what they are getting paid for isn't it...

Ant sounded "happy " enough after that race...

Now for the tracks he knows well.....

He knows all the tracks well, but coming up are the tracks he may have more of a base to work with from last year. Whilst 12th is better and he was closer to his teamate, he still only beat one finisher. Still need to find that piece to click to find that chunk of speed from.

Mmm.. At least he seems up-beatish.. Joking on the grid and not swearing in his interviews :D Bring on Donny..

Quote:

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Originally Posted by tha_jackal

Mmm.. At least he seems up-beatish.. Joking on the grid and not swearing in his interviews :D Bring on Donny..

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Always a positive. ;) I guess when you're at the bottom, things can only look up, right?

08 Jun 2008
INJURED HOPKINS FIGHTS FOR TOP TEN
John Hopkins demonstrated true grit and determination today at the Grand Prix of Catalunya to bring his Ninja ZX-RR home in 10th position, despite carrying a back injury sustained in Friday’s practice.
Hopkins got a steady start to the 25-lap race and pushed as hard as possible, despite being unable to move around easily on his race machine, to make up positions around the 4.727km circuit. The 25-year-old Kawasaki pilot settled into a rhythm and circulated on his own for most of the race, riding through the pain barrier, to cross the line with a very creditable top ten finish.
Teammate Anthony West, who set his fastest lap of the entire weekend in the opening stages, endured a hard, race long fight with Marco Melandri to finish in a points-scoring 12th position.
The Australian switched positions with Melandri throughout the race in a nail-biting battle, but despite his persistence the 26-year-old was just beaten to the flag. West was upbeat about the result and he can now look forward to racing at Donington Park, which was where he made his premier class debut aboard the Kawasaki last season.
Depending on his condition, Hopkins will ride during tomorrow’s valuable post-race test to further develop his 800cc Ninja ZX-RR, whilst West will fly to Japan for a two-day test aimed at improving the power delivery of his machine.
John Hopkins: #21 – 10th Position
“I’m in a lot of pain right now with my injury and that was a really hard race. I tried to pass a few people at the start, but I got boxed out and I lost some ground. I pushed as hard as I could to stay with the group ahead of me, but the pain set in and I had to really focus on settling into a rhythm. It was then a case of finding a way to ride without moving around too much on the machine to finish the race, and although tenth isn’t where I want to be, in this situation I’m pleased we managed to achieve that. We still have a lot of work to do with the bike, and hopefully we can be in a good condition for the next race in Britain.”

Anthony West: #13 - 12th Position
“I rode as hard as I possibly could today and I fought hard with Marco for the entire race. I passed him into the turns on many occasions, but his machine was a bit stronger on the straights and it just meant I had a lot of work to do each time he came by. The tyre went off a little in the last few laps, which meant I just didn’t quite have enough to re-take him before the finish. I’m happy we had a good race, but we still need to make big improvements to the set-up of the bike. I’m going to Japan for a test where I hope we can try to resolve the rear traction issues I’ve been suffering, then we’ll be back in Europe preparing for Donington Park and, hopefully, we can make another step forwards there.”

Michael Bartholemy: Kawasaki Competition Manager
“Hopefully this is a new start for us and I am happy that both riders finished the race today, as the last few rounds have been difficult. We need to concentrate on making improvements to the performance of the bike before the next race to provide the riders with the best package possible. Anthony will now spend some time testing in Japan where we have better resources to focus on improving the power delivery of his machine. John rode a hard race today with his injury and we are unsure yet if he’ll be able to complete many laps during tomorrow’s test. I hope he will be fit to ride and we can continue making steps forward, so that we can be even more competitive at Donington Park.”

Race Times:
1. Dani Pedrosa (SPA) Repsol Honda Team 43'02.175; 2. Valentino Rossi (ITA) Fiat Yamaha +2.806; 3. Casey Stoner (AUS) Ducati Marlboro Team +3.343; 4. Andrea Dovizioso (ITA) JIR Team Scot +10.893; 5. Colin Edwards (USA) Tech 3 Yamaha +16.426; 6. James Toseland (GBR) Tech 3 Yamaha +21.482; 7. Chris Vermeulen (AUS) Rizla Suzuki MotoGP +21.548; 8. Nicky Hayden (USA) Repsol Honda Team +22.280; 9. Shinya Nakano (JPN) San Carlo Honda Gresini +22.375; 10. John Hopkins (USA) Kawasaki Racing Team +46.835; 11. Marco Melandri (ITA) Ducati Marlboro Team +57.991; 12. Anthony West (AUS) Kawasaki Racing Team +59.168; 13. Sylvain Guintoli (FRA) Alice Team +1'00.779;

Kawasaki closing in on 2009 MotoGP targets

By Matthew Birt
MotoGP
04 June 2008 13:19

will have whittled a 2009 rider shopping list down to just two riders after this weekend’s Catalunya MotoGP in Barcelona.
A short list of five riders, including struggling Aussie Anthony West, has been compiled and a final decision on who will partner John Hopkins in 2009 will be taken after the Dutch MotoGP in Assen at the end of June.
Colin Edwards is believed to be one name on Kawasaki’s hit list, with Chris Vermeulen and Andrea Dovizioso believed to be other targets.
Kawasaki team boss Michael Bartholemy refused to confirm any names in Mugello last weekend, but told MCN: “The list is finished and the final selection will be finished on Monday after Catalunya.
“We want to be down to two names by then. After Assen I will go to Japan and then we can decide.”
With Kawasaki still to commit to running a third motorbike in 2009, Bartholemy denied Edwards would be shrugged aside if the factory remained a two-rider effort.
Some Kawasaki management are believed to oppose to having two American riders, but Bartholemy added: “It is not a big advantage for the market to have two American riders but if our management says its okay for us I think he is very good to develop a bike and he has a lot of experience.
“I think that would be a benefit for us but we haven’t talked about money and signing. But he could be interested and I said to him we could be interested in having a rider with his experience.”
Edwards began tentative discussions with Kawasaki in Le Mans last month.

Pondering Points:

Interesting article recently in AMCN where JB et al at Yamaland suggested their main aim for 2008 was to initially make the M1 more like the Ducati in terms of weight dist etc. Obvious reason being that the Bridgies had been developed around the Ducati.

Ant's problems began towards the end of last season after a particularly impressive beginning to his second motogp career. I for one cannot help but think that as the Bridgies evolved around Ducati so Kwakas rear traction dramas increased. Sure de Puniet was at times quick last season however finsihing races is king. All thru testing Ant continued to struggle with the front and rear.

Clearly a solution was / is required. JB used the KISS principle and rather than re-invent the wheel went to something that was already working for the Ducs. They played with weight distribution, swing arm length etc etc. Maybe I over simplify, but it aint rocket science either. How do Kwaka then solve their dilema. They began with 2008 a bike that wanted to wheel stand on acceleration and had rear traction problems. Go figure that one out...... They now have a machine that doesn't want to shoot skyward out of turns and have consequently increased their traction problems both into and out of turns. Add to that the occasional loss of confidence in the front and I am surprised Ant has any hair left. Still 17th in MotoGP is better than 13th in 250cc (and WSS is big fish in little pond stuff).

My view on Hopper V Ant is simply riding style. Hopper is way off the bike upper body wise so clearly his resultant lean angle is going to be slightly less all other things being equal.... and he certainly aint faster than Ant as Casey is over Marco. Ant has proved over and over that he is fast. Still well remember him leading Kenny Jnr and Criville at PI in 2001 on an under powered machine. Whilst on Marco go figure his dilema. A class act on a machine that is "manageable" by Casey.... but just aint working for Marco. His confidence must also be shoy to pieces.

Wayne Gardner observed at seasons end in 2007 that the Kwaka was about 100mm taller than other MotoGP bikes he tested. So clearly this is going to effect speed at which you can change in direction amognst other things. The main drama with Kwaka at present has nothing to do with their riders. It has everything to do with design, technology and dare I say incompetence in the guys setting the thing up. As I have said countless times .... a rider can only give so much feed back.... The problems however are obvious.... I wonder how long it is going to take them to solve them

Prob easier to find a rider more suited to the bike (Ducati - Stoner) than build a whole new bike from the ground up to suit Ant.

Pfft.. Theyve hired Ant as a rider, therefore they need to make the bike work for him, period.. Ant's style is probably very similar to 70-80% of the paddock (coming from 250cc) therefore, Kwak (which has built a bike that is$ hard pressed to suit anyone at all) will be searching for quite a while to find a suitable rider..

Maybe they need to build a decent bike first, thats the most glaring issue IMO .. Or hire a new technical staff..

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Mach24

Prob easier to find a rider more suited to the bike (Ducati - Stoner) than build a whole new bike from the ground up to suit Ant.

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Would be interesting to see how one would go about that.......
Do you schedule a test with all your "possibilities" .... impossible
Do you employ a former 250 world champ as race / test rider.....done
Do you employ former GP winners, WSS champs or 250 runners up (McCoy / Pitt / Nakano) ..... done
Do you employ a 100 gp veteran (Hopper)..... results aint that flash

Nup !!!! you get someone who keeps it simple ..... like JB to get it right (or close to ) in the first place - dare I say maybe some Aussies who are used to thinking outside the square. It aint rocket science after all - or is it???

I'm with you Jake

Quote:

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Originally Posted by tha_jackal

Pfft.. Theyve hired Ant as a rider, therefore they need to make the bike work for him, period.

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Since they are in the premier class of motorbike racing that is no longer a valid excuse for being dreadfully slower than your teammate.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by tha_jackal

Pfft.. Theyve hired Ant as a rider, therefore they need to make the bike work for him, period.. Ant's style is probably very similar to 70-80% of the paddock (coming from 250cc) therefore, Kwak (which has built a bike that is$ hard pressed to suit anyone at all) will be searching for quite a while to find a suitable rider..

Maybe they need to build a decent bike first, thats the most glaring issue IMO .. Or hire a new technical staff..

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So they will keep Ant 09' and beyond because he 'might' be good enough and start building a new bike.

Think again.

Oh by the way did you read that Hopper rode with a cracked vertebra on the weekend? And still finished ahead.

I wish Ant could do better, but I think he has peaked.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Pantah Jack

Still 17th in MotoGP is better than 13th in 250cc (and WSS is big fish in little pond stuff).

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Though in general I agree with you I think a move to WSS would be a good thing for West.

Crash.net's Italian GP blog had a section about West

http://www.crash.net/motorsport/moto..._saturday.html

So on top of no confidence to ride the bike he is worried about his financial future. WSS may be the little pond, but he can win races and make a living there.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Mach24

So they will keep Ant 09' and beyond because he 'might' be good enough and start building a new bike.

Think again.

Oh by the way did you read that Hopper rode with a cracked vertebra on the weekend? And still finished ahead.

I wish Ant could do better, but I think he has peaked.

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Hopper said on crash.net audio that the back is no drama as it can be completely numbed so this is not really an issue like hands / wrists etc etc.

I cannot see anyone who would be silly enough to put their hand up to ride Kwaka next year.

Also heard a rumour on Fox Sport yesterday about Vermuelen to Ducati WSBK next year (pissed off with Suzi) ???? Brendan Roberts aint doing himself any favours to get Bayliss' ride next year by chucking it down the road yesterday in WSBK SStock -- roll on the silly season !!!!!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Pantah Jack

Hopper said on crash.net audio that the back is no drama as it can be completely numbed so this is not really an issue like hands / wrists etc etc.

I cannot see anyone who would be silly enough to put their hand up to ride Kwaka next year.

Also heard a rumour on Fox Sport yesterday about Vermuelen to Ducati WSBK next year (pissed off with Suzi) ???? Brendan Roberts aint doing himself any favours to get Bayliss' ride next year by chucking it down the road yesterday in WSBK SStock -- roll on the silly season !!!!!

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Are you suggesting no one will ride the Kawasaki?

Oh and by the way Brendan Roberts won the SST race and is now second in the championship.

There was an article recently where Francis Batta suggested Suzuki MotoGP were unhappy with Chris and wanted to move him on to fit in Beni Spies.

I think Pantah was probably talking about the Assen Superstock race, the highlights of which were shown during coverage of the Nurburgring world superbikes.

i find it shocking. just shocking that hopkins with 5 years experience advantage in motogp would be faster than ant west.

ant west proved last year that he was a capable motogp rider. now with a sh!t bike, he is lost.

it happens to the best of them: see melandri and capirossi at ducati, for example.

I must agree with you TD. Marco, Loris and Ant have all struggled to come to grips with their bikes. Loris changed bikes, and is now doing much better,(apart from his injury). Nakano was fast on the Kwak, running on Bridgestones then had a year of hell riding on Michelins. Nakano is now doing much better. Is it the tyres, the bikes, or a combination ? I think all the riders mentioned, have race winning potential, but getting everything right on the day, is the key, as well as making sure the riders are comfortable with the package as a whole.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by T-D

i find it shocking. just shocking that hopkins with 5 years experience advantage in motogp would be faster than ant west.

ant west proved last year that he was a capable motogp rider. now with a sh!t bike, he is lost.

it happens to the best of them: see melandri and capirossi at ducati, for example.

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Just remind me again, how long has Ant be racing GP bikes?

I believe Ant is also 12 months into MotoGP.

The bike remains pretty much unchanged from the bike last year which was sold as a possible winner.

Perhaps the competition has stretched out a bit, but Ant needs to compete with his team mate!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Mach24

Just remind me again, how long has Ant be racing GP bikes?

I believe Ant is also 12 months into MotoGP.

The bike remains pretty much unchanged from the bike last year which was sold as a possible winner.

Perhaps the competition has stretched out a bit, but Ant needs to compete with his team mate!

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that bike appears to be radically different from last year's bike in it's handling (or lack thereof--specifically rear traction).

i do recall jeremy burgess stating that the kwak had race wining potential--all it needed was a top notch rider. so kwak signs a top notch rider and...the bike is nowhere close to the front. :(

there are many other things that we were sold on that have not borne themselves out: marco on a ducati would compete for a championship. loris on a suzuki would slide down the grid. and on and on and on...

i'll trust my eyes before listening to the experts, methinks.

i was watching "Faster" the other day and remember how highly praised Hopkins was when he came into motogp. he was hailed as a future champion.

does anyone believe he will ever win a championship on a kawasaki?

Supposedly the Kwak was the fastest accelerating bike on the grid last year but lacked corner speed

In trying to find corner speed they have seemingly lost the thing that made the bike work last year as it's now one of the slowest through the speed traps and it still doesn't handle and has no traction out of corners

That aside doesn't explain why Ant is often over 2s or more slower than Hopper - even when Hopper is injured.

I think I've put this forward before, but you could argue that Suzuki and Kawasaki were somewhat flattered last year by the majority of Honda and Yamaha riders struggling - certainly compared to how they're doing this year.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2007_Gr..._racing_season

Tech 3 were backmarkers last year with Sylvain and Makoto Tamada, and now with Michelins and Colin and JT on board they're consistent top 6 contenders.

Jorge Lorenzo has scored three-quarters as many points in 2008 so far as Colin did in the whole of last year on the second factory bike, even including a DNF and a DNS.

Two of the satellite Hondas in 2007, Nakano for JiR (now the Dovi bike, doing well in 2008) and Checa for LCR - still struggling with Randy de P - had a woeful time throughout 2007. Nicky struggled massively in 2007 until Assen - more so than this year arguably. Toni Elias had a bunch of crashes and injuries for Fousto Gresini's team which ruled him out of any contention.

All of that left only Valentino, Dani and Marco doing it for Honda and Yamaha in 07 and chances for Suzuki, Kawasaki and D'Antin to do quite well. In 2008 there are three more fast Yamahas at the front and a couple more Hondas near the pace, which will have knocked the Suzukis and Kawasakis back about four spots in the order, even if their time gap to the top has stayed constant. Loris is riding pretty well but is at the lower end of the top ten, and Chris V hasn't suddenly started riding badly (in 11th this year vs 6th overall last year). That would seem to bear out that things have got more difficult for the smaller teams.

With the best will in the world, I don't think the Kawasaki was a potential winner last year - it hasn't been at any stage since they re-entered in 2002. With Hopkins on board, it's still about as close on pace as Randy was this time last year (although both were/are not consistently on the pace) - the problem being that Westy is now a fair bit slower by comparison which seems to be down to confidence and not being able to get a satisfactory setup. It's the age-old 'thin line between clever and stupid' thing (see also M. Melandri & Ducati).

There's probably a point to this post, but I don't know what it is... :p

S**t Happens perhaps ?

Something like that yeah John.

Maybe more of an observation that saying you'll move up the grid is one thing, but doing it is quite another when everyone else on the grid is doing the same...

That is a great way to summarize where Kawasaki are sitting at the moment Pat. They don't just need to improve their package they need to achieve a greater improvement than their competitors.

Bottom line is that the combination of Ant West and Kawasaki are just not competitive. I personally doubt that Ant has what it takes to compete at this level regardless of what bike he has under him. Despite having some very dedicated fans I don't see what he has done to deserve his ride. It is a big step up from riding WSS to MotoGP and even 250cc to MotoGP. Being competitive in a lower class simply does not mean you have what it takes to run with the best.

Kawasaki and Suzuki may do well to put together their own satelite teams and get more people riding, testing and developing.

Spot on Ryan, I must say that a satelite team for both Kawasaki and Suzuki would be a step in the right direction. Shwanz is keen to run a Suzuki team, how about if Kawasaki approached Sito Pons to run a satelite team, that would help developement for both manufacturers. As for Westy, the judge is still out IMO

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Mach24

Are you suggesting no one will ride the Kawasaki?

Oh and by the way Brendan Roberts won the SST race and is now second in the championship.

There was an article recently where Francis Batta suggested Suzuki MotoGP were unhappy with Chris and wanted to move him on to fit in Beni Spies.

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Dont get me wrong I rate Brendan but now is when decisions are being made so the pressure is right on. The race I refer to in Assen he had made one blue whilst leading shunting him back to 4th or 5th and then a lap or 2 later he chucked it, and it was still early in the race..... maybe we need to put an old head on his young shoulders :)

Interesting facts after Nurburgring......

HAT-TRICK - Pole, win and fastest lap for Brendan Roberts in the Superstock 1000 race. This is the second time in four races that the Australian has managed to record a hat-trick. Roberts currently stands at four wins, third overall in Superstock 1000 history, while Ducati scored their tenth win overall.

ROLL ON THE SILLY SEASON