Anthony West
Anthony "Ant" West (born July 17, 1981 in Maryborough ) is an Australian motorcycle racer .
In 2010 and 2011 he competed for MZ in the Moto2 class of the motorcycle world championship .
West is considered a downright rain specialist; He celebrated his two Grand Prix victories in 2003 in the 250 cm³ class and in 2014 in the Moto2 class in the rain at the Dutch TT in Assen .
Career
Beginnings
Anthony West, like many other Australian motorcycle racers, began to gain experience on motorcycles in dirt track races. He competed in his first race at the age of twelve and already competed with Chris Vermeulen in the Australian championship, for example .
In 1998 he made his debut at the 125 cc Australian Grand Prix in the motorcycle world championship .
250 cm³ World Championship (1999-2000)
For the 1999 season , Anthony West rose with the relatively inexperienced Shell Advance Honda Team in the 250 cc World Championship. With sixth place at the German Grand Prix at the Sachsenring as the best result, he was twelfth overall. In 2000 , Anthony West climbed to sixth place overall, but without being able to achieve a podium finish.
500 cm³ World Championship (2001)
For the 2001 season West rose to the 500 cm³ class and started for the Dee Cee Jeans Racing Team on inferior material. Although he crossed the finish line in almost every race, he only scored a few points and was 18th with 27 points at the end of the season. For the 2002 season, Anthony West had a place on an Aprilia factory machine in prospect, but found no sponsors to buy for this place.
250 cm³ World Championship (2003-2006)
In the 2003 season , West started again in the 250 cm³ class for the Italian private team Zoppini Abruzzo . He was regularly among the top ten and was able to celebrate his only victory in the motorcycle world championship so far at the rainy Dutch TT in Assen . With second place at his home Grand Prix in Phillip Island and two third places, Anthony West finished seventh overall with 145 points at the end of the season.
The year 2004 was not so successful for West, starting again for the Abruzzo team. He did not achieve a single podium and was eleventh in the overall standings with 88 points.
For the 2005 season , Anthony West was hired by the Austrian motorcycle manufacturer KTM as a driver for the newly launched 250cc project. For three quarters of the season, however, he did not take part in any Grand Prix because of the slow development of the motorcycle and some technical problems. In the first half of the season, he therefore acted as a substitute pilot for various teams. In the first outing of the 250cc KTM, the rainy British Grand Prix at Donington Park , West finished in an excellent second place. After that, however, he only got placements in midfield, he was finally 17th at the World Cup. After the season, his contract with KTM was terminated because of differences of opinion about the development of the machine.
The 2006 season denied Anthony West in German private team Kiefer-Bos-racing an Aprilia kit machine. His teammate was Dirk Heidolf . After a rather inconspicuous season on the defeated machine, he finished the World Cup in eleventh place.
2007 and 2008 seasons
In the 2007 motorcycle world championship , West started again in the 250 World Championship, this time on an Aprilia semi-works machine in the Sicilia team . After a disappointing start to the season, in which he was unable to match the results of the previous year, he decided to leave the team.
In the Supersport World Championship , Anthony West then proved how successful he can be on a competitive machine . There he replaced his injured compatriot Kevin Curtain on a Yamaha YZF-R6 factory machine in the Yamaha World Supersport Racing team . In the first race at Monza he finished third. He was even able to win the next two races at Silverstone and Misano . With only three races contested, West finished ninth in the World Championship .
After the Frenchman Olivier Jacque resigned as a Kawasaki factory rider in the MotoGP class in June 2007 , West was offered his place in the Kawasaki factory team until the end of the season due to the good results in the Supersport World Championship. West accepted and bought himself out of his contract with Yamaha for the Supersport class. As a result, he crossed the finish line at each of the eleven MotoGP races he took part in, with two seventh places in the USA and Japan being his best results of the season. Anthony West ended the season with 59 points in 15th place overall.
The 2008 season denied Anthony West in the Kawasaki factory team in the MotoGP class, his new teammate was the American John Hopkins . Both Kawasaki pilots fell far short of expectations, West was World Cup 18 with 50 points. and thus the worst fixed starter. Only at the Gran Prix of the Czech Republic in Brno did the Australian achieve an outstanding result with sixth place in qualifying and fifth in the race. His contract with the Greens , which expired at the end of the season and even withdrew completely from the MotoGP class at the end of the year, was not extended. However, there were efforts on the part of the Japanese to keep West in a different championship as a factory pilot, but this was not implemented.
Supersport World Championship (2009)
In the 2009 season , Anthony West competed with the Italian Gianluca Vizziello for the Swedish private Honda team Stiggy Honda Racing of ex-Grand Prix driver Johan Stigefelt on a Honda CBR 600 RR in the Supersport World Championship . The Australian was consistently in the top ten. His best results of the season were second places in Valencia and Brno. Before the last race of the season, however, the team withdrew completely from the World Cup for financial reasons, after they could no longer raise the budget for a Vizziellos mission. In the overall standings, West took seventh place overall with 117 points.
Moto2 (2010-2011)
In the 2010 season , Anthony West competed in the newly created Moto2 class of the motorcycle world championship for the team from the German manufacturer MZ . After the withdrawal of the Stiggy teams Johan Stigefelt had a Honda CBR 600 RR to by the fall of 2009 Martin Wimmer and Ralf Waldmann acquired Saxon manufacturer selling a Moto2 chassis with on the basis of steel - lattice frame has been developed. West had already accompanied the project as a test driver throughout the winter and regularly achieved results in the front field.
The season in the series, which was characterized by a high level of performance with over 40 starters, was characterized by fluctuating results. After retiring at the opening race in Qatar , West scored his first point in the second race in Jerez, Spain , finishing 15th. This was followed by four races with placements outside of the points. The Australian won ninth place at the Catalonia Grand Prix in Barcelona , and he also showed a strong performance with 13th place at the following German Grand Prix. After further placings in midfield, mostly outside the points, Anthony West achieved his best result of the season with seventh place at the Portuguese Grand Prix in Estoril . He was just 3.385 seconds short of the winner, Stefan Bradl ( Suter ). With 26 points, West finished 23rd overall in the final ranking.
Also in the 2011 season Anthony West competed for MZ in the Moto2 class. His teammate was Max Neukirchner , who left the Superbike World Championship . At the Dutch TT in Assen he finished fourth in changeable conditions, a success he was able to repeat at the last race of the season, the Valencia Grand Prix . At the end of the season, West finished 22nd overall with 40 points, two points behind his teammate Max Neukirchner.
Planned promotion to the MotoGP class for the 2012 season
In November 2011 it was announced that West was planning to move up to Moto GP with the Speed Master team and a Claiming Rule motorcycle. In January 2012 West announced that he would not be promoted to MotoGP because he could not raise the required 250,000 euros in sponsorship money. West then announced that he would not race at all this year and would go back to Australia.
British Superbike Championship
In February 2012 it was announced that West would be competing in the British Superbike Championship with a BMW S 1000 RR from the Italian Supersonic team. This was no longer necessary at the start of the season. In 2012 he moved to the Moto2 Team QMMF Racing.
Doping ban
After a drug test positive for methylhexanamine , he was banned for one month in October 2012. The WADA however, lodged an objection, whereupon the Court of Arbitration for Sport increased the barrier to 18 months.
In 2018 West became conspicuous again when the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) found the stimulating substance methylhexanamine in a urine sample taken at the race weekend of the Supersport World Championship in Misano, which is on the list of prohibited substances. As a result, West was banned from the FIM motorcycle world federation for 18 months. West denied the allegations.
Brazilian Superbike Championship
Although suspended, West started in the Brazilian Superbike Championship in 2019, where he won one race and finished third twice. Then the FIM caused Kawasaki to withdraw its support. His suspension was extended until March 14, 2021.
statistics
In the motorcycle world championship
(Status: end of season 2016)
| season | class | team | motorcycle | run | Victories | Second | Third | Poles | Nice Race laps | Points | position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | 125 cc | Christopher West Plumbing | Honda | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1999 | 250 cc | Shell Advance Honda Team | Honda / TSR -Honda |
16 | - | - | - | - | - | 66 | 12. |
| 2000 | 250 cc | Shell Advance Honda Team | Honda NSR | 16 | - | - | - | - | - | 146 | 6th |
| 2001 | 500 cc | DeeCee Jeans Racing Team | Honda V2 | 14th | - | - | - | - | - | 27 | 18th |
| 2003 | 250 cc | Team Zoppini Abruzzo | Aprilia | 16 | 1 | 1 | 2 | - | - | 145 | 7th |
| 2004 | 250 cc | Freesoul Abruzzo Racing Team | Aprilia | 14th | - | - | - | - | - | 88 | 11. |
| 2005 | 250 cc | Aprilia Germany / Würth Honda BQR / Red Bull KTM GP 250 |
Aprilia / Honda / KTM |
7th | - | 1 | - | - | 1 | 30th | 17th |
| 2006 | 250 cc | Kiefer-Bos-Racing | Aprilia | 16 | - | - | - | - | - | 78 | 11. |
| 2007 | 250 cc | Team Sicilia | Aprilia | 7th | - | - | - | - | - | 25th | 19th |
| 2007 | MotoGP | Kawasaki Racing Team | Kawasaki Ninja ZX-RR | 11 | - | - | - | - | - | 59 | 15th |
| 2008 | MotoGP | Kawasaki Racing Team | Kawasaki Ninja ZX-RR | 18th | - | - | - | - | - | 50 | 18th |
| 2010 | Moto2 | MZ Racing Team | MZ-RE Honda | 17th | - | - | - | - | - | 26th | 23. |
| 2011 | Moto2 | MZ engine | MZ-RE Honda | 17th | - | - | - | - | - | 40 | 22nd |
| 2012 | Moto2 | QMMF Racing Team | Moriwaki / Speed Up | 16 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 2013 | Moto2 | QMMF Racing Team | Moriwaki | 17th | - | - | - | - | - | 19th | 21st |
| 2014 | Moto2 | QMMF Racing Team | Speed up | 18th | 1 | - | - | - | - | 72 | 12. |
| 2015 | Moto2 | QMMF Racing Team | Speed up | 13 | - | - | - | - | - | 30th | 22nd |
| MotoGP | Cardion AB Motoracing | Honda | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 2016 | Moto2 | Montaze Broz Racing Team | Suter | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | 6th | 27. |
| total | 238 | 2 | 2 | 2 | - | 1 | 907 | ||||
In the Supersport World Cup
| season | team | motorcycle | run | Victories | Second | Third | Poles | Nice Race laps | Points | position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Italia Megabike | Honda CBR 600 RR | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | 7th | 32. |
| 2007 | Yamaha World Supersport Racing Team | Yamaha YZF-R 6 | 3 | 2 | - | 1 | - | 2 | 66 | 9. |
| 2009 | Stiggy Racing Honda | Honda CBR 600 RR | 13 | - | 2 | 1 | - | - | 117 | 7th |
| 2016 | Tribeca Racing / West EAB Yamaha | Yamaha YZF-R 6 | 2 | - | - | 1 | - | - | 16 | 23. |
| total | 19th | 2 | 2 | 3 | - | 2 | 208 | |||
In the Superbike World Championship
| season | team | motorcycle | run | Victories | Second | Third | Poles | Nice Race laps | Points | position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Pedercini Racing | Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10 R | 12 | - | - | - | - | - | 64 | 17th |
| total | 12 | - | - | - | - | - | 64 | |||
References
Web links
- West's official website (English)
- Anthony West on the official website of the Motorcycle World Championship.
- Anthony West on the official website of the Superbike and Supersport World Championship
Individual evidence
- ↑ David Pergler: Kawasaki brings West back into conversation. www.motorsport-total.com, August 23, 2009, accessed March 5, 2009 .
- ↑ Kay Siecken: Season out for West. www.motorsport-total.com, October 22, 2009, accessed April 26, 2010 .
- ↑ bwin GRANDE PREMIO DE PORTUGAL - Race Classification. (pdf) (No longer available online.) www.motogp.com, October 31, 2010, archived from the original on June 4, 2015 ; accessed on December 14, 2010 (English).
- ^ MZ: 2011 with West and Neukirchner. www.motorsport-total.com, November 22, 2010, accessed on December 14, 2010 .
- ↑ Gerald Dirnbeck: West returns to MotoGP with a Speed Master. www.motorsport-total.com, November 14, 2012, accessed on February 18, 2012 .
- ^ Lennart Schmid: No sponsorship money: West announces the end of his career. www.motorsport-total.com, January 27, 2012, accessed on February 18, 2012 .
- ↑ Mario Fritzsche: West moves to the island: BSB with Supersonic. www.motorsport-total.com, February 17, 2012, accessed on February 18, 2012 .
- ↑ Moto2 rider Anthony West suspended for doping autosport.com October 31, 2012
- ↑ Moto2: Anthony West loses results after Anti-Doping appeal crash.net November 28, 2013
- ↑ Anthony West banned from FIM for doping. Speedweek, September 14, 2018, accessed on September 14, 2018 .
- ^ Australian West suspended after second doping offense
- ↑ Anthony West denies doping allegation. Speedweek, September 16, 2018, accessed September 16, 2018 .
- ↑ Comeback: How Anthony West bypasses his doping ban
- ^ Anthony West: Doping ban lasts 6 months longer
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | West, Anthony |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | West, Ant (nickname) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Australian motorcycle racer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 17th July 1981 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Maryborough |