On the eve of the San Marino Grand Prix, the Kawasaki Racing Team has officially confirmed that Anthony West will be retained to ride alongside new signing John Hopkins for the 2008 MotoGP World Championship.
West, who only joined Team Green in June - as a replacement for the underperforming Olivier Jacque - has signed a one year deal after impressing the factory with his consistent results. The Australian has notched up 33 points in just five rounds, with three of those finishes being in the top ten and, as he grows more used to the ZX-RR over time, Kawasaki are optimistic they will see him shine ever brighter on track.
The wet weather ace moved into pole position for the coveted 2008 seat after team-mate Randy de Puniet surprisingly signed for HondaLCR, but West still faced late pressure for the seat from former Kawasaki rider Shinya Nakano. Repsol Honda's Dani Pedrosa was also linked to the ride, although few took that rumour seriously.
"I feel great about how things have worked out. As you can imagine, it's a huge weight off my shoulders. This is definitely something I've been stressing about
: whether I can stay in MotoGPand, if so, for which team," admitted Ant. "But this really is the best opportunity for me, to stay with Kawasaki, as I'm really happy here. It's such a good team and a great bike with all the support from the factory. Now, I've got one thing less to worry about so I can just concentrate on riding."It will be cool to be in a team with John Hopkins, too, as I know him pretty well and we get along together. He's riding really well at the moment, so hopefully I can push him next year!" he smiled. "This is such a massive difference to where I was earlier this year in 250s. I didn't even think I was going to be racing again and now I'm in one of the best teams in the paddock and staying another year, so it's a big turn around. I'm just so glad I kept trying and stuck at it. With the chances that Kawasaki are giving me, it's really paid off, and I am looking forward to repaying their faith in me with some good results aboard the Ninja ZX-RR, both this year and next."
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Originally Posted by konichd
