Termas de Río Hondo, Argentina: QMMF Racing Team rider Anthony West had a good start into the Grand Prix of Argentina and was within the top ten of the hard-fought Moto2 category on the opening laps of the race, but found it tough to match the speed of the other riders in the slipstream battles of the fast Termas de Rio Hondo Circuit and finished a hard battle in 14th position.
Even though the 33-year-old Australian had aimed much higher than that, he still left the track in good spirits, since he and his team had made further progress with the base set-up of his Speed Up bike.
Team-mate Julian Simon could also have taken world championship points, but lost all his chances when he was taken out by another rider on only the second lap of the race. After his fall, he bravely rode on and finished a lonely race in 26th position.
“I am happy with my start and with the set-up of the bike. We made some changes from yesterday and they were an improvement,” West said.
“The weather was obviously better for us as well, due to the lower temperatures. I made my way up to ninth place on the first couple of laps and I felt quite strong in the corners. But when it came down to racing with the others, I just couldn’t do anything because on some parts of the track, I didn’t have the speed and I was losing time. When I would come up behind the others and pull out of the slipstream, I would get stuck besides them, whereas they could pass me out of the slipstream quite easily,” he added.
“The good thing is that I was behind Luthi for a couple of laps and I was able to confirm our progress in the development of the bike. I’d like to thank my team, because the bike was set-up well and I felt comfortable. We just lacked some speed,” West said.
“I am sorry for the team, because they worked very well not only over the three days here in Argentina, but in all three races so far, and they would have deserved a strong result,” Simon said.
“Unfortunately, it was not meant to be and I am sorry we couldn’t finish higher up in the classification. But the most important thing is that I am okay. Louis Rossi touched me in corner five on the second lap and there was nothing I could do to avoid a crash. I was able to continue the race but it was a lonely ride. If I could have stayed on the bike I could have been in the top twelve, probably even in the top ten, but that’s racing. Now I am thinking of some more changes to the set-up, in order to resolve our remaining issues, especially on the front.”
The Peninsula
