Ant West

Anthony West: Kawasaki MotoGP Pilot #13
"I like Assen and have good memories of it as I won my first GP race there in 2003, riding a 250cc. It used to be really fast and flowing but the first part was changed and lost some of its appeal. The last part, the nicest bit, remains the same though. There are some corners you can go in to really hard and I'm really looking forward to riding the Ninja ZX-RR round there. I'd like to go and be fast but there's still so much to learn and I need more time. The aim is just to do the same good job we did at Donington: improving session after session, one step at a time. I'm still getting used to the whole thing, and it's going to take a while yet, but I'm having a lot of fun at the moment and it's all good!"


I think this sums up Ants current mindset pretty well.. Its clear he's just STOKED to be in GP's at the moment and just loving every minute. I find that refreshing.. Gooo Ant! Give gas and keep impressing the people that count :up: ..

It's good to hear that from Ant. I think he'll improve at Assen. He really just needs more time in the saddle to get used to everything. Give him another 3 or 4 races and he'll be giving RdP the hurry-up I think.

There's an article about Ant West getting the Kwaka MotoGP ride here:
http://www.speedtv.com/articles/moto/motogp/38374/
It's by Dennis Noyes, and there's a lot of high praise from such a highly respected motorcycle racing writer, he really seems to rate Westy.

teammate Anthony West ended the day only 17th after suffering a low-side at Ruskenhoek in the afternoon. He was unhurt and was able to rejoin the session on his spare bike.

"I was feeling good until I crashed; everything felt right and the changes we'd made this morning were working really well," West said.

"It was strange because I was already in the corner, just ready to open the gas, but then I lost the front and went down. I don't know why: perhaps the tyre wasn't warm enough as I'd only done one lap on it. Maybe I need to warm them up a bit more on the left hand side.

"So yeah, obviously I'm not very happy but at least the set-up we found was good."

Quote:

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Originally Posted by ArmchairBikeFan

There's an article about Ant West getting the Kwaka MotoGP ride here:
http://www.speedtv.com/articles/moto/motogp/38374/
It's by Dennis Noyes, and there's a lot of high praise from such a highly respected motorcycle racing writer, he really seems to rate Westy.

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That really is a fantastic article, it outlines Westys struggles through his life and career to a T .. :up: good find mate!

Gooooo Ant, brilliant ride, to finish first you have to finish ;) Ninth place in his second ride is a fantastic achievment, especially to beat home the likes of Melandri, Checa, Nakano and Tamada, a few GP winners in that bunch! Im sure Ant has turned some heads, now bring on the Saxonring, a track Ant quite enjoys by the way... :up:

Also, a fantastic post race interview, sounded happy, laughing, even called the race 'beautiful' .. im sure it was soooo sweet for him to beat Melandri to the line, after watching him get so many oppotrunities ahead of him in the past..

Woot! :)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by tha_jackal

Gooooo Ant, brilliant ride, to finish first you have to finish ;) Ninth place in his second ride is a fantastic achievment, especially to beat home the likes of Melandri, Checa, Nakano and Tamada, a few GP winners in that bunch! Im sure Ant has turned some heads, now bring on the Saxonring, a track Ant quite enjoys by the way... :up:

Also, a fantastic post race interview, sounded happy, laughing, even called the race 'beautiful' .. im sure it was soooo sweet for him to beat Melandri to the line, after watching him get so many oppotrunities ahead of him in the past..

Woot! :)

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couldn't agree more Jackal.... he was cool as a cucumber, unlike his dickhead teammate who just can't keep the thing upright or out of anyone's way. Geez thats a great ride considering the lack of dry weather time he's had on the seat.

GOOOOOOOO Ant!!!

Plus he's making the right people happy:- ;)

Michael Bartholemy: Kawasaki Competition Manager
"Basically, it was a very good weekend. Randy's been confident in both the wet and the dry the whole time and his starting position was excellent. Anthony also did a great job on Thursday and Friday. Neither of them got off to a good start and then Randy had bad luck with his crash but, from the other side, Anthony rode a fantastic race. It's not often someone impresses me but I must say that today, he did. He's only had a matter of hours on our bike in the dry but he's a fighter: battling with Checa, Hofmann and Melandri. I'm really happy. On the last lap, I still didn't believe he could finish in that position but he did. It was a fantastic job."

..

Anthony West: Race Position: 9th - Championship Position: 18th
"I was nervous on the line and, as soon as I released the clutch, I knew my start wasn't a good one. A lot of people went past and I couldn't quite get it together for the first few laps, but then I found a good rhythm. Hofmann, Checa and Melandri and I formed a bit of a group and we fought for the rest of the race. We were changing positions a lot, holding each other up, everyone trying everything: it was a bit wild at times. It was a great experience and I learned a lot. I'm really glad I could stay with those guys for the rest of the race and that I didn't drop out of the group. I'm really happy: one of my goals was to be in the top ten this year but I didn't expect it to be at this race!"

:up:

yeah, bartholomew seems to be really happy with westy.

i am, too. he was upbeat in the interview and the on track his battles were very intense but he fought cleanly and hard. i think the other riders learned that they could trust him, and i bet he won their respect, as well.

i was wishing for a wet race to see him podium maybe, but i think this is better. he needs dry seat time to really sort out the bike.

excellent race. roll on sausagering.

In his interview with Brackys he said that he was learning new things each lap about what he and the bike could and couldn't do. To be doing that, while fighting for position and keeping the thing on the track, is very promising!

I'd expect him to make steady progress to be running in the middle of the top ten within a few races if he can continue his current evolution (and attitude : )