Mugello, Italy: QMMF Racing Team rider Anthony West (pictured) finished in 23rd position in Moto2, but the Australian is seeking an improvement in today’s race.
West made further progress with the new chassis on his Speed Up prototype and is gaining confidence, especially with front end grip.
But two days of practice, interrupted by a clutch problem on Friday afternoon that cost valuable track time, simply wasn’t enough to find the best possible set-up for his revised bike.
West said: “Yesterday, we decided to change the chassis and risk to try something new. I think it’s definitely something that’s going to be an improvement, but right now, we haven’t found the perfect set-up for it yet.”
The Australian added: “I am a little bit confused about how to ride the bike the right way and I am a little disappointed in myself for not finding the best riding style for the new chassis straight away.”
The Australian is hopeful of a good performance in today’s race.
He said: “It’s the first time I felt really good with the front, but I just need to learn to ride the bike better. I think we will continue to use the new chassis, we just need to work on it and try to get confidence in what the bike can and can’t do. I hope we will be able to do a good race tomorrow (today)!”
Meanwhile, team-mate Rafid Topan Sucipto managed to go more than two seconds faster than Friday in yesterday’s qualifying session, after the Indonesian got valuable help on Friday afternoon and yesterday, after former motorcycle racer Bernie Hatton, an Australian friend and personal trainer of West gave advice to the rider.
However, his progress came to an abrupt end in qualifying, when he crashed halfway through the session after grabbing a fresh set of tyres. Sucipto, who is in 32nd position, said after yesterday’s qualifying session: “We made a lot of progress today and I managed to improve my lap time by more than two seconds, which is good.”
The Indonesian added: “Unfortunately, I had a crash half way through the qualifying session when I went out with new tyres and lost the front.”
Despite the crash, Sucipto is optimistic of the race in his debut season for QMMF Racing Team.
He said: “It’s a pity because I’m sure I could have gone faster. I hope I can improve further in the race!”
THE PENINSULA
