Anthony West
Anthony West has many names. 'Ant' as he is known, has gained the reputation of being an excellent rider under wet conditions, giving him the nickname - 'The Rain Man'. Anthony has been a class act since his early days of dirt track racing. It is this experience that has helped him compete at the topmost level, under wet conditions.
Anthony's career as a professional racer started in the year 1998, on the back of a 125cc motorbike from Honda. He just had one race on his debut season before his talent took him to the 250cc category, on a Honda TSR250 for the following season. Although he didn't really set the tracks ablaze with his performances, he was solid throughout, getting to a respectable 12th place finish.
In 2000, his bike changed and so did his fortune. On the back of an RS250, he rode his way to a wonderful sixth place finish. Although he didn't reach the podium even once, his strong and consistent style of riding ensured that he got 146 points for his efforts.
In 2001, he bombed. He was unable to replicate his past performances and just ended up with an 18th place finish. His performances weren't convincing enough to get him enough sponsors for the 2002 season and as a result, he was forced to sit out of the big league.
In 2003, Anthony was back and this time, it was with another privateer team, Abruzzo Racing. He had enormous success with the Aprilla RS250 that he got and took four podium finishes that included a win as well. His results got him to seventh place in the overall standings.
He couldn't do as well in the 2004 season although he did get 88 points from 14 races. He managed to finish only at 11th but that was enough for him to get his first big break.
Or so he thought!
2005 was supposed to be his year at the big time and a deal with factory team KTM was the first sign. However, he missed three quarters of the season due to lack of development on the bike as well as a massive number of mechanical failures. On his KTM debut, West finished second on a rain soaked Donington Park track. He rode on four more races with the team before shifting to Kiefer Bos Racing Team. A disagreement over the safety of the KTM 250cc bike was said to be the main reason for the shift and it did help West make up for some of his lost time and reputation.
He finished 2006 in 11th place after some strong performances and continued with the team for 2007. Early in 2007, Anthony rode on a semi-factory Aprilla in the 250cc championships under the Matteoni Racing team. He was unable to match the timings of his Keifer Bos outings and a best of only ninth after four rounds lead to him quitting the team.
But West had the talent and it was out there for all to see when he rode from 18th on the grid to an incredible third place finish at Monza in the 2007 World Supersport Championships. He then won the wet Silverstone race and then at Misano, he won again. So after 9 rounds of the championships, West was in fifth place on his Yamaha R6. Unbelievably, he had just participated in 3 of those nine rounds.
This performance made him the rider of choice for the Kawasaki Racing Team after Olivier Jacque retired in June of 2007. He rode the Ninja ZX-RR after he bought out his contract with Yamaha to do so. He reached a fourth place on his debut at Donington Park but then crashed to finish at 11th. He started churning out seventh and eighth place finishes. At one unfortunate incident in Motegi, he started the race at 6th place and was leading the race. But a ride-through penalty was handed to him for jump starting the race a fraction earlier. He was, again, handed a ride-through penalty in his home Grand Prix at Australia but this time, it was for lining up incorrectly on the grid. He still managed to climb his way back up the field and ended with a championship point.
His 15th place finish in 2007 was enough to convince Kawasaki to keep him on for 2008, alongside the American, John Hopkins. With a lot of promise and ability, it is just a matter of time before he gets a machine that's good enough to take him near the top, and stay there.
Anthony's career as a professional racer started in the year 1998, on the back of a 125cc motorbike from Honda. He just had one race on his debut season before his talent took him to the 250cc category, on a Honda TSR250 for the following season. Although he didn't really set the tracks ablaze with his performances, he was solid throughout, getting to a respectable 12th place finish.
In 2000, his bike changed and so did his fortune. On the back of an RS250, he rode his way to a wonderful sixth place finish. Although he didn't reach the podium even once, his strong and consistent style of riding ensured that he got 146 points for his efforts.
In 2001, he bombed. He was unable to replicate his past performances and just ended up with an 18th place finish. His performances weren't convincing enough to get him enough sponsors for the 2002 season and as a result, he was forced to sit out of the big league.
In 2003, Anthony was back and this time, it was with another privateer team, Abruzzo Racing. He had enormous success with the Aprilla RS250 that he got and took four podium finishes that included a win as well. His results got him to seventh place in the overall standings.
He couldn't do as well in the 2004 season although he did get 88 points from 14 races. He managed to finish only at 11th but that was enough for him to get his first big break.
Or so he thought!
2005 was supposed to be his year at the big time and a deal with factory team KTM was the first sign. However, he missed three quarters of the season due to lack of development on the bike as well as a massive number of mechanical failures. On his KTM debut, West finished second on a rain soaked Donington Park track. He rode on four more races with the team before shifting to Kiefer Bos Racing Team. A disagreement over the safety of the KTM 250cc bike was said to be the main reason for the shift and it did help West make up for some of his lost time and reputation.
He finished 2006 in 11th place after some strong performances and continued with the team for 2007. Early in 2007, Anthony rode on a semi-factory Aprilla in the 250cc championships under the Matteoni Racing team. He was unable to match the timings of his Keifer Bos outings and a best of only ninth after four rounds lead to him quitting the team.
But West had the talent and it was out there for all to see when he rode from 18th on the grid to an incredible third place finish at Monza in the 2007 World Supersport Championships. He then won the wet Silverstone race and then at Misano, he won again. So after 9 rounds of the championships, West was in fifth place on his Yamaha R6. Unbelievably, he had just participated in 3 of those nine rounds.
This performance made him the rider of choice for the Kawasaki Racing Team after Olivier Jacque retired in June of 2007. He rode the Ninja ZX-RR after he bought out his contract with Yamaha to do so. He reached a fourth place on his debut at Donington Park but then crashed to finish at 11th. He started churning out seventh and eighth place finishes. At one unfortunate incident in Motegi, he started the race at 6th place and was leading the race. But a ride-through penalty was handed to him for jump starting the race a fraction earlier. He was, again, handed a ride-through penalty in his home Grand Prix at Australia but this time, it was for lining up incorrectly on the grid. He still managed to climb his way back up the field and ended with a championship point.
His 15th place finish in 2007 was enough to convince Kawasaki to keep him on for 2008, alongside the American, John Hopkins. With a lot of promise and ability, it is just a matter of time before he gets a machine that's good enough to take him near the top, and stay there.
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