Texas, USA: Qatar Motor and Motorcycle Federation (QMMF) Racing Team rider Anthony West was immediately on the pace on the first day of practice for the Grand Prix of the Americas, clocking sixth fastest in the morning session, yesterday.
However, he dropped back to 12th in the afternoon only due to a vibration issue after a tyre change.
Since both handling and engine power of his Speed Up machine are good, the 31-year-old Australian hopes to score a strong result in the Moto2 race.
After the sessions, West said: “The handling of the bike felt good at Qatar, so we decided to keep it the same here without trying anything different, which actually turned out quite well. It felt good in the first session and even though I had a lot of vibration all around the track in the second session after a front tyre change, I managed to improve my lap time in the afternoon.”
The Australian rider was satisfied with yesterday’s work and admits he will have to tackle the new circuit successfully.
West said: “All in all, the bike feels good and I think we have a good pace. The circuit is lots of fun and definitely different to what we are used to. Every American road is dead straight and then they build a race track with some really strange corners!”
He added: “If you look at turn one from the main straight, it looks like a wall coming on, I have never seen something like that before. It’s amazing how quickly the bike stops there, but you have to be careful because the track flattens out on the top and you feel as if you are picking up speed again.”
West, who clinched two podium finishes in Malaysia and at his home country Australia last season explained: “From turn one, you just keep going left-right, left-right, left-right. You never go straight until you arrive at the back straight where you can finally have a rest. But the whole first part of the track is hard work and it’s hard to find a good line.
“My engine that gave us some trouble in the race of Qatar actually ran well today, so I hope everything will come together this time and we’ll have a good race!”
Meanwhile, West’s young team-mate Rafid Topan Sucipto also improved his lap time but still needs more experience with his bike and in Moto2 racing before being able to fight for the front positions on the grid. The 18-year-old Grand Prix rookie from Jakarta, Indonesia, was 27th in the first free practice but dropped back to 32nd when everybody else went faster in improving track conditions.
Sucipto it was a challenge but is optimistic he can improve.
He said: “This race track is very interesting but also very hard to learn. I’m struggling in the really slow corners but I also find it difficult to hit the right line through the section with all those quick direction changes.”
He added: “But nevertheless, we are improving steadily and I am sure I will be able to go faster again tomorrow!”
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