Anthony West (motorcyclist)

Anthony "Ant" Keith West,[1] (born 17 July 1981 in Maryborough, Queensland), is an Australian motorcycle road racer. He most recently raced in the 2019 Brazilian Superbike Championship for the Kawasaki Racing Team.[2] West has been suspended from participating at any FIM sanctioned events for 24 months due to testing positive for banned substances on July 8th 2018. The suspension ends on September 14th 2020.[3] In 2018 he competed in the Supersport World Championship, aboard a Kawasaki ZX-6R and in the Asia Road Race SS600 Championship, aboard a Yamaha YZF-R6.

Anthony West
West in 2005
Nationality	Australian
Born	17 July 1981 Maryborough, Queensland, Australia
Current team	EAB antwest Racing & Webike IKAZUCHI Racing
Bike number	13
Motorcycle racing career statistics MotoGP World Championship Active years 2007–2008, 2015 Manufacturers Kawasaki, Honda Championships 0 2015 championship position NC (0 pts) Starts Wins Podiums Poles F. laps Points 32 0 0 0 0 109 Moto2 World Championship Active years 2010–2016 Manufacturers MZ-RE Honda, Moriwaki, Speed Up, Suter Championships 0 2016 championship position 27th (6 pts) Starts Wins Podiums Poles F. laps Points 99 1 1 0 0 193 500cc World Championship Active years 2001 Manufacturers Honda Championships 0 2001 championship position 18th (27 pts) Starts Wins Podiums Poles F. laps Points 14 0 0 0 0 27 250cc World Championship Active years 1999–2000, 2003–2007 Manufacturers Honda, Aprilia, KTM Championships 0 2007 championship position 19th (25 pts) Starts Wins Podiums Poles F. laps Points 92 1 5 0 1 578 125cc World Championship Active years 1998 Manufacturers Honda Championships 0 1998 championship position NC (0 pts) Starts Wins Podiums Poles F. laps Points 1 0 0 0 0 0 Superbike World Championship Active years 2016–2017 Manufacturers Kawasaki Championships 0 2017 championship position 27th (13 pts) Starts Wins Podiums Poles F. laps Points 16 0 0 0 0 77 Supersport World Championship Active years 2004, 2007, 2009, 2016–2018 Manufacturers Honda, Yamaha, Kawasaki Championships 0 2018 championship position 10th (51 pts) Starts Wins Podiums Poles F. laps Points 33 2 9 0 2 330

During 2017 he has raced in the Supersport World Championship (600 cc) and the Asia Road Race SS600 Championship initially aboard a Yamaha YZF-R6 followed by a Kawasaki ZX-6R, and also selected events in the Superbike World Championship on a Kawasaki ZX-10R as a stand-in rider for Puccetti Kawasaki.

He has won two races in Grands Prix, the 2003 Dutch TT in the 250 cc class, and the 2014 Dutch TT in the Moto2 class. He is known as "The Rain Man" because of his ability to ride well in the extreme wet, which he attributes to a dirt track racing background.[4]

Career

500cc World Championship

In 2001, he was a 500cc rider for the Dee Cee Jeans Racing Team, scoring minor points in 12 of the 16 races to place 18th overall.

In 2002, he had a year away from motorcycling as he could not gather enough sponsorship to secure a factory Aprilia ride.

Return to 250cc

In the 2003 and 2004 seasons, West rode for the Italian Abruzzo Racing team, running a privateer Aprilia both years. 2003 was the more successful of the years, he won a race and achieved three additional podium places.

2005 was supposed to be his big break, but a factory deal with KTM saw him miss three quarters of the season due to a lack of development and several mechanical failures. However, West rode the KTM to a podium place on debut, placing second in the rain soaked British Grand Prix at Donington Park.

Early in the 2007 season, he rode in the 250cc World Championship on a semi-factory, LE Aprilia run by Matteoni Racing. A disappointing start to the season saw West unable to match the times he set on the Kiefer Bos bike in 2006, with a best result of ninth after the fourth round of seventeen, leading him to quit the team.

However, West enjoyed more success when, at the Monza round of the 2007 World Supersport Championship, he rode through the field from 18th on the grid to finish 3rd, while substituting for injured compatriot Kevin Curtain on his first visit to the track, on his first race aboard the Yamaha. Then, in the following World Supersport round at the historic Silverstone circuit, West secured victory in a wet race. He repeated this feat again at Misano.[5] He finished the championship in ninth place, despite only contesting three of the thirteen rounds.

Return to MotoGP

Following the retirement of Olivier Jacque in June 2007, West was offered the position to race with the Kawasaki Racing Team in MotoGP and aboard the Ninja ZX-RR for the remainder of the season, buying out his contract with Yamaha.[6] He made a good debut at the British Grand Prix, reaching fourth position, but then crashing and eventually finishing 11th.[7] His first four races each saw him finish progressively higher, with seventh at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca and eighth at the Sachsenring.[8] He was seventh again in the wet at Motegi, but could have been even higher. Starting 6th, he jumped the start fractionally – by the time the ride-through penalty was handed out, he was leading the race. Teammate Randy de Puniet came second amidst an all-Bridgestone podium, emphasising the missed opportunity. In his home country's Grand Prix the Australian's error caused him to only finish 12th while compatriot Casey Stoner won aboard his Ducati.

At the following race in Malaysia, Sepang, West qualified an impressive fifth behind teammate Randy de Puniet but was yet again given a ride through penalty, this time for lining up incorrectly on the starting grid. West climbed his way back through the field to 15th, capturing one championship point.

Anthony West riding a Kawasaki at the 2007 Australian MotoGP at Phillip Island

West remained with Kawasaki full-time for 2008, joined by John Hopkins. However, he did not achieve great success, and spent much of the season as the last of the 18 regular riders in the championship. There was improvement at Brno however; he qualified sixth in the wet and carried the form over into a dry race, finishing fifth in a race dominated by Bridgestone tyred bikes.

It had already been announced on the Saturday at Brno that West would not be riding for Kawasaki in the 2009 season. Kawasaki reportedly offered him a ride in another championship (which would likely be the Supersport World Championship, in which he competed briefly in 2007); West did not immediately reveal whether he had accepted or declined this offer.

Due to Kawasaki team manager Michael Bartholemy's stated desire to keep West in the Kawasaki family, West was rumoured to be an outside chance to ride a third Kawasaki in MotoGP, which would have been run by Jorge Martínez 'Aspar', who runs the Aspar 125cc and 250cc teams.[9] However, West was never officially mentioned and it transpired that Martinez and his sponsors were only interested in hiring a Spanish rider, a factor that resulted in the team's entry to MotoGP being postponed until after 2009 when no suitable rider could be found.

On 16 October 2008 it was announced that West had signed to ride for the Stiggy Honda team for the 2009 World Supersport Championship, cutting his ties with Kawasaki.[10]

Moto2 World Championship

For 2010 West raced in the new Moto2 class.

2012

For 2012, West was scheduled to ride for the Speed Master team in MotoGP with their CRT Spec Aprilia RSV-4, however he failed to raise the sponsorship necessary and the ride went to Mattia Pasini. West then signed with Supersonic Racing, riding the BMW S1000RR in the British Superbike Championship after narrowly missing out on a ride with Swan Yamaha.

Further drama was to come however, when West's fellow countryman Damian Cudlin was dropped from the QMMF Moto2 Team after struggling with the Moriwaki machine in pre-season testing. West quickly signed with the team, less than a week before the season opener in Qatar. He subsequently left the British Superbike Championship to race in Moto2 full-time.

From Mugello onwards, West raced the Speed Up chassis in place of the struggling Moriwaki. He achieved two season best results of second at Malaysia and his home Grand Prix in Phillip Island.

On 31 October, it was announced that a sample that West had provided for testing at the French Grand Prix contained traces of methylhexanamine, a banned substance. West was stripped of his seventh-place finish in the French Grand Prix and was banned from competing in any FIM-sanctioned race for one month.[11]

2013

For 2013, West continued with the QMMF Moto2 Team alongside Indonesian rider Rafid Topan Sucipto who replaced West at Valencia following his ban. In November 2013 the Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled on an appeal by the World Anti-Doping Agency against the decision of the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme to only ban West for one month following his positive drug test in 2012. The court retrospectively increased the ban to 18 months and all his results between 20 May 2012 and 19 October 2013 were voided.[12]

2014

In 2014, West remained again with QMMF Racing Team, this time partnered by Spanish rookie Roman Ramos. Both raced in the Italian Speed Up.

West started very well the season, finishing the first five races in points positions, with a best of 7th place at the American GP. While Ràmos always struggled with the Speed Up (he never scored points) West was always fighting for points and he was the best Speed Up rider in a field almost dominated by Kalexs.

At the Dutch TT, West qualified in a poor 23rd position out of 34 riders. But in a wet-drying race where most riders struggled, West once again showed his amazing wet ability and climbed up in first position, to win his second career world championship win, once again in the Dutch TT after his 2003 win. He was the first non-Kalex rider to win that year. Only two other non-Kalex riders won a race that year, both on a Suter. He climbed up to 8th position after that win.

He rarely scored points again after that Dutch win, and he finished in 12th position with 72 points. He scored 3 more points than rookie Sam Lowes, so he was the best Speed Up rider that season.

West was confirmed once again to ride with the QMMF team for the 2015 season.

2015

In 2015, West was partnered this time by a more competitive rider than the others, Spain's Julián Simón.

This time West's performance were not so good. He often struggled in qualifying and he always had to regain positions in the race, going to the limits and retiring more often than previous years.

Tensions with the team didn't help and when West was finally in the midpoints positions, he was sacked by the team after the San Marino GP. He was replaced by Mika Kallio.

He did not race the remaining five races and he finished the season in 22nd position, with 30 points. His best races were at Austin and a wet Silverstone, where he finished 7th in both occasions.

2016

West has raced in World Supersport Championship in 2016 with a wildcard entry in his home race with team Tribeca Racing riding a Yamaha YZF-R6. He finished the race at third position. He also entered the Assen race with his self-sponsored team called West Racing, but he did not race.

West competed in World Superbike with Pedercini replacing Lucas Mahias. At Sepang West finished the race in 9th in the first race and 5th in the second race in wet conditions. He raced for all but two races onwards, always finishing on points scoring positions, except in one race when he retired. He finished 17th in the standings with 64 points.

West made a wildcard appearance with Montaze Broz Racing in Moto2 aboard a Suter at the 2016 Czech Republic motorcycle Grand Prix, he started 28th on the grid and finished in 10th place on rain-affected conditions, one of the two drivers who scored points in a Suter that year.

He finished sixth in the Asia Road Race SS600 Championship with 3 wins, the only rider able to do that.

2017

For 2017, West re-entered his private West Racing team in the Supersport World Championship. At Phillip Island, he finished once again in third position. He did not raced in Thailand and Aragon, though he entered the Spanish race. He finished in points scoring positions in every race he entered that year. At Assen he finished 14th. At Imola he finished 11th. At Donington Park he managed a 7th place, at Misano a 10th place and at the Lausitzring he finished 8th. West finished the season in 8th place with 83 points.

He also raced in the Monterey Peninsula round of the MotoAmerica SuperBike Championship, where he finished in 5th and 8th place, resulting in a total of 19 points and a current 17th place in the standings.[13]

West entered four races in the World Superbike Championship for the Puccetti Kawasaki Racing team at the Portuguese and French rounds, replacing injured Randy Krummenacher.[14] He scored 13 points with an 8th place in Race 2 at the Algarve's Portimao Circuit being his best result, before switching to the Puccetti Supersport 600 machine for the last two meetings of the year, due to Kenan Sofuoğlu's injuries and Kyle Ryde's termination by the team leaving machines available. The Puccetti Superbike was taken over by Sylvain Guintoli.[15]

Career statistics

By season

Season	Class	Motorcycle	Team	Race	Win	Podium	Pole	FLap	Pts	Plcd	WCh
1998	125cc	Honda RS125	Christopher West Plumbing	1	0	0	0	0	0	NC	–
1999	250cc	Honda NSR250	Shell Advance Honda Team	16	0	0	0	0	66	12th	–
2000	250cc	Honda NSR250	Shell Advance Honda Team	16	0	0	0	0	146	6th	–
2001	500cc	Honda NSR500	Dee Cee Jeans Racing Team	14	0	0	0	0	27	18th	–
2003	250cc	Aprilia RSV 250	Team Zoppini Abruzzo	16	1	4	0	0	145	7th	–
2004	250cc	Aprilia RSV 250	Freesoul Abruzzo Racing Team	14	0	0	0	0	88	11th	–
2005	250cc	Aprilia RSV 250	Aprilia Germany	1	0	0	0	0	30	17th	–
		Honda NSR250	Wurth Honda BQR	1	0	0	0	0
		KTM 250 FRR	Red Bull KTM GP250	5	0	1	0	1
2006	250cc	Aprilia RSV 250	Kiefer-Bos-Racing	16	0	0	0	0	78	11th	–
2007	250cc	Aprilia RSV 250	Team Sicilia	7	0	0	0	0	25	18th	–
	MotoGP	Kawasaki Ninja ZX-RR	Kawasaki Racing Team	11	0	0	0	0	59	15th	–
2008	MotoGP	Kawasaki Ninja ZX-RR	Kawasaki Racing Team	18	0	0	0	0	50	18th	–
2010	Moto2	MZ Moto2	MZ Racing Team	17	0	0	0	0	26	23rd	–
2011	Moto2	MZ Moto2	MZ Racing Team	17	0	0	0	0	40	22nd	–
2012	Moto2	Moriwaki MD600	QMMF Racing Team	16	0	0	0	0	0	NC	–
		Speed Up S12
2013	Moto2	Speed Up SF13	QMMF Racing Team	17	0	0	0	0	19	21st	–
2014	Moto2	Speed Up SF14	QMMF Racing Team	18	1	1	0	0	72	12th	–
2015	Moto2	Speed Up SF15	QMMF Racing Team	13	0	0	0	0	30	22nd	–
	MotoGP	Honda RC213V-RS	AB Motoracing	3	0	0	0	0	0	NC	–
2016	Moto2	Suter MMX2	Montáže Brož Racing Team	1	0	0	0	0	6	27th	–
Total				238	2	6	0	1	907		0

By class

Class	Seasons	1st GP	1st Pod	1st Win	Race	Win	Podiums	Pole	FLap	Pts	WChmp
125cc	1998	1998 Australia			1	0	0	0	0	0	0
250cc	1999–2000, 2003–2007	1999 Malaysia	2003 Catalunya	2003 Netherlands	92	1	5	0	1	578	0
500cc	2001	2001 South Africa			14	0	0	0	0	27	0
MotoGP	2007–2008, 2015	2007 Great Britain			32	0	0	0	0	109	0
Moto2	2010–2016	2010 Qatar	2014 Netherlands	2014 Netherlands	99	1	1	0	0	193	0
Total	1998–2001, 2003–2008, 2010–2016				238	2	6	0	1	907	0

Races by year

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position, races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year	Class	Bike	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	Pos	Pts
1998	125cc	Honda	JPN	MAL	SPA	ITA	FRA	MAD	NED	GBR	GER	CZE	IMO	CAT	AUS Ret	ARG					NC	0
1999	250cc	Honda	MAL 14	JPN 10	SPA 17	FRA 9	ITA Ret	CAT Ret	NED 10	GBR 11	GER 6	CZE 15	IMO 15	VAL 9	AUS 10	RSA 9	BRA Ret	ARG 8			12th	66
2000	250cc	Honda	RSA 5	MAL 6	JPN 6	SPA 5	FRA 5	ITA 7	CAT 9	NED 4	GBR Ret	GER 10	CZE 10	POR 4	VAL 7	BRA 5	PAC 6	AUS 7			6th	146
2001	500cc	Honda	JPN	RSA 14	SPA 15	FRA DNS	ITA Ret	CAT Ret	NED 15	GBR 14	GER 15	CZE Ret	POR 12	VAL 13	PAC 14	AUS 12	MAL 12	BRA 13			18th	27
2003	250cc	Aprilia	JPN Ret	RSA 6	SPA 5	FRA 7	ITA 9	CAT 3	NED 1	GBR 3	GER 6	CZE Ret	POR 10	BRA 8	PAC Ret	MAL 9	AUS 2	VAL Ret			7th	145
2004	250cc	Aprilia	RSA 16	SPA 4	FRA 6	ITA 10	CAT 9	NED 6	BRA Ret	GER 7	GBR 6	CZE 4	POR 6	JPN Ret	QAT Ret	MAL Ret	AUS DNS	VAL			11th	88
2005	250cc	Aprilia	SPA	POR	CHN	FRA 18	ITA	CAT													17th	30
		Honda							NED Ret
		KTM								GBR 2	GER 10	CZE 12	JPN Ret	MAL Ret	QAT DNS	AUS	TUR	VAL
2006	250cc	Aprilia	SPA Ret	QAT Ret	TUR 9	CHN 9	FRA 11	ITA 8	CAT 9	NED 8	GBR 9	GER 7	CZE Ret	MAL 15	AUS 9	JPN 11	POR 9	VAL 19			11th	78
2007	250cc	Aprilia	QAT 13	SPA 9	CHN Ret	TUR 13	FRA 10	ITA 10	CAT 21												19th	25
	MotoGP	Kawasaki								GBR 11	NED 9	GER 8	USA 7	CZE 12	RSM 8	POR 12	JPN 7	AUS 12	MAL 15	VAL 16	15th	59
2008	MotoGP	Kawasaki	QAT 16	SPA 13	POR 16	CHN 17	FRA 14	ITA 15	CAT 12	GBR 10	NED Ret	GER 10	USA 17	CZE 5	RSM 13	IND 11	JPN 15	AUS 12	MAL 12	VAL 17	18th	50
2010	Moto2	MZ-RE Honda	QAT Ret	SPA 15	FRA 26	ITA 27	GBR 17	NED Ret	CAT 9	GER 13	CZE 18	IND 10	RSM 17	ARA 21	JPN 23	MAL 24	AUS 21	POR 7	VAL 27		23rd	26
2011	Moto2	MZ-RE Honda	QAT Ret	SPA 11	POR 27	FRA 25	CAT 22	GBR Ret	NED 4	ITA 21	GER 23	CZE 29	IND 26	RSM 27	ARA 11	JPN 12	AUS Ret	MAL Ret	VAL 4		22nd	40
2012	Moto2	Moriwaki	QAT 25	SPA 16	POR 17	FRA DSQ	CAT DSQ	GBR DSQ	NED DSQ	GER DSQ											NC	0
		Speed Up									ITA DSQ	IND DSQ	CZE DSQ	RSM DSQ	ARA DSQ	JPN DSQ	MAL DSQ	AUS DSQ	VAL
2013	Moto2	Speed Up	QAT DSQ	AME DSQ	SPA DSQ	FRA DSQ	ITA DSQ	CAT DSQ	NED DSQ	GER DSQ	IND DSQ	CZE DSQ	GBR DSQ	RSM DSQ	ARA DSQ	MAL DSQ	AUS 10	JPN 11	VAL 8		21st	19
2014	Moto2	Speed Up	QAT 9	AME 7	ARG 12	SPA 11	FRA 14	ITA 18	CAT 10	NED 1	GER 17	IND 9	CZE 22	GBR 22	RSM 17	ARA Ret	JPN Ret	AUS 22	MAL 18	VAL 9	12th	72
2015	Moto2	Speed Up	QAT Ret	AME 7	ARG 14	SPA 15	FRA 11	ITA 19	CAT 22	NED Ret	GER Ret	IND 13	CZE 21	GBR 7	RSM 15	ARA	JPN				22nd	30
	MotoGP	Honda																AUS 23	MAL 20	VAL 22	NC	0
2016	Moto2	Suter	QAT	ARG	AME	SPA	FRA	ITA	CAT	NED	GER	AUT	CZE 10	GBR	RSM	ARA	JPN	AUS	MAL	VAL	27th	6

Races by year

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position, races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year	Bike	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	Pos	Pts
2004	Honda	SPA	AUS	SMR	ITA	GER	GBR	EUR 9	NED	ITA	FRA					32nd	7
2007	Yamaha	QAT	AUS	EUR	SPA	NED	ITA 3	GBR 1	SMR 1	CZE	GBR	GER	ITA	FRA		9th	66
2009	Honda	AUS 3	QAT 9	SPA 2	NED 7	ITA Ret	RSA 8	USA 10	SMR 7	GBR Ret	CZE 2	GER 15	ITA 8	FRA 4	POR	7th	117
2016	Yamaha	AUS 3	THA	SPA	NED DNS	ITA	MAL	GBR	ITA	ITA	GER	FRA	SPA	QAT		23rd	16
2017	Yamaha	AUS 3	THA	SPA DNS	NED 14	ITA 11	GBR 7	ITA 10	GER 8	POR	FRA					8th	73
	Kawasaki											SPA 3	QAT 5
2018	Kawasaki	AUS Ret	THA 6	SPA 9	NED DNS	ITA 6	GBR 11	CZE 7	ITA 6	POR	FRA	ARG	QAT			10th	51

Races by year

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position, races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year	Bike	1		2		3		4		5		6		7		8		9		10		11		12		13		Pos	Pts
		R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2
2016	Kawasaki	AUS	AUS	THA	THA	SPA	SPA	NED	NED	ITA	ITA	MAL 9	MAL 5	GBR 10	GBR 12	ITA 10	ITA 11	USA 12	USA 9	GER 11	GER Ret	FRA	FRA	SPA 14	SPA 9	QAT	QAT	17th	64
2017	Kawasaki	AUS	AUS	THA	THA	SPA	SPA	NED	NED	ITA	ITA	GBR	GBR	ITA	ITA	USA	USA	GER	GER	POR 13	POR 8	FRA 18	FRA 14	SPA	SPA	QAT	QAT	27th	13

References

1. "ARRC Sentul Supersport 600 class Race Result". Retrieved 20 August 2016.
2. "The Strange Case of Anthony West: "I can only run in Brazil". sbk-italia.it. 8 February 2019. Retrieved 3 March 2019.
3. "ASADA Sanction".
4. "A Quick Chat with Rainmeister Ant West". Bike Sport News. 9 July 2007. Retrieved 25 August 2007.
5. "West to replace Jacque at Kawasaki". gpupdate.net. 21 June 2007. Retrieved 30 January 2011.
6. "Anthony West gets a Kawasaki MotoGP Ride for the remainder of the season". Daily Motos. 21 June 2007. Archived from the original on 24 May 2008. Retrieved 2008-08-25.
7. "West reckons victory was possible". autosport.com. 24 June 2007. Retrieved 25 August 2008.
8. "KAWASAKI CELEBRATE A TOP TEN TRIPLE AT LAGUNA". motorsport.com. 22 July 2007. Retrieved 25 August 2008.
9. Strang, Simon; Lostia, Michele (20 August 2008). "Kawasaki to run satellite bike in 2009". Autosport. Haymarket Publications. Retrieved 2 January 2015.
10. Keen, James (16 October 2008). "Team Stiggy signs Anthony West for 2009". Motor Cycle News. Bauer Media Group. Retrieved 2 January 2015.
11. "Moto2 rider Anthony West suspended for doping". autosport.com. 31 October 2012. Retrieved 31 October 2012.
12. McLaren, Peter (28 November 2013). "Anthony West loses results after Anti-Doping appeal". Crash.net. Crash Media Group. Retrieved 28 November 2013.
13. "2017 MotoAmerica SuperBike Results" (PDF). MotoAmerica. 20 August 2017.
14. West to replace injured Krummenacher for remaining WorldSBK rounds Read motorsport, 12 September 2017, Retrieved 24 October 2017
15. Sylvain Guintoli & Ant West Will Race in Jerez Asphalt and Rubber, 17 October 2017, Retrieved 24 October 2017

External links

• Official website
• Profile on MotoGP.com
• Profile on WorldSBK.com