A) Qatar Motor and Motorcycle Federation (QMMF) Racing Team rider Anthony West is seen in the team’s garage ahead of the practice sessions in Valencia, Spain yesterday. B) QMMF Racing Team rider Rafid Topan Sucipto (right) speaks to a team member. The qualifying session takes place today.
Valencia, Spain: Qatar Motor and Motorcycle Federation (QMMF) Racing Team rider Anthony West had a busy first day of practice at the Grand Prix of Valencia yesterday.
The 32-year-old Australian battled chattering problems and a lack of rear tyre grip on his Speed-Up prototype. But since the general feeling for his bike was good, West is confident to be able to sort and ride around his problems and to improve on his 19th place in qualifying tomorrow.
West said: “This morning I had big problems with chattering. Everything else felt good, but the vibrations made the bike really difficult to ride. We used the harder tyre in this session, so I didn’t have a lot of grip, either. This afternoon, we tried the softer option and to our surprise, the grip wasn’t any better. We expected it to be much better, but it didn’t really improve. We managed to sort of calm down some of the vibration and chattering of the bike, that’s where the improvement in my lap times came from.”
He added: “For tomorrow, we need to make one more step with our set-up. I don’t think we will get completely rid of the chatter, but we will try to reduce it further. I will also try to choose better lines and try to get more rear traction this way, because at the moment, the rear is spinning a lot, especially at the point where I am opening the throttle.”
For team-mate Rafid Topan Sucipto, the final race of the season marks the return to a venue where his big Grand Prix adventure started one year ago as a wild card entry.
Back then, the Indonesian teenager had jumped into the deep end of world championship racing with no experience on fully grown race bikes whatsoever.
Sucipto is currently in 33rd position after two free practice sessions in Valencia, but is determined to be much higher up when it counts in the qualifying session which takes place today.
THE PENINSULA
