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anthony west confirmed at kawasaki for 2008

30/08/07

By David Miller

Aussie rainmeister Anthony West was confirmed as John Hopkins' partner in the 2008 Kawasaki MotoGP squad this afternoon, ending weeks of speculation that the ride may have fallen to Shinya Nakano after Randy De Puniet signed for LCR Honda.

West was drafted into the Kawasaki Racing Team back in June as a replacement for Olivier Jacque, who moved across to head up Kawasaki's Ninja ZX-RR development programme as the official factory test rider. Since his arrival in MotoGP, West has impressed with how quickly he has adapted to racing in the premier series, as well as his consistent results during what has been a period of intense adjustment for the Australian.

  "I feel great about how things have worked out. As you can imagine, it's a huge weight off my shoulders," he said. "This is definitely something I've been stressing about: whether I can stay in MotoGP and, if so, for which team. 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! 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."