IN
THE
WIND
P40
ANTHONY WEST TRIES NEW BIKE FOR SIZE
A
nthony West was the rider
that the Puccetti Racing
Kawasaki squad called when
their regular WorldSBK rider
Randy Krummenacher could not
complete the season, and it was
a big turnaround for his fortunes.
Having ridden in almost every
championship there is in 2017,
and most recently on his uncom-
petitive Yamaha at Lausitzring,
West has gone from thinking he
would have to call it a day with
racing this year to having a glow-
ing immediate future.
After his first practice session
at the WorldSBK in Portimao,
September 14, with his fellow
Aussie Andrew Pitt as his crew
chief, West said, "I was a bit
depressive to speak to after
the last WorldSSP round so it
is great to do the whole rest of
the season on this bike now. It
was all a bit short notice for me
and I did not really believe it was
going to happen. It was one of
those calls where you were like,
'Oh yes, he is just seeing who is
available.' Then they called me
back next morning and they said
I was riding the rest of the year!"
West knows he needs time
to shine but also knows that his
bike has a lot of potential after
Leon Haslam scored second
place on it in one race at Don-
ington early in the year. "Haslam
doing so well at Donington puts
a lot of pressure on me," West
said, "because he has had a
good result on this bike with this
team. But Haslam has ridden
Kawasaki for two years or so,
and that track is his home track.
I think he does a ride day like
every week there, so he has an
advantage. But it shows if every-
thing is perfect and the bike is
capable of being up the front."
West impressed at Portimao,
finishing 13th and eighth in the
two races. CN
Anthony West
acquainted himself
well to the Puccetti
Kawasaki.
