By Dean AdamsThis just in from Westie:
TOP SIX IN WORLD SUPERSPORT FOR WEST AT MISANO, FIRST KAWASAKI TO THE FINISH LINE
Round 8 Misano
The EAB antwest Racing World Supersport Team arrived on Wednesday to the beautiful town of Misano on Italy’s Adriatic coast for round 8 of the World Supersport Championship.
The team was unsure what to expect at the Misano circuit with the three low speed corners that lead onto long straights— a track configuration that does not suit the Kawasaki’s lack of acceleration compared to the competition.
Free Practice 1 started with dry conditions and a lot of questions because Pirelli brought four different dry front tire compounds and three different dry rear compounds to try and handle the blistering track temperatures. The team used a new setup that was radically different to the previous setup from Brno—Brno’s elevation changes were a thing of the past compared to the Misano circuits almost flat configuration. Ant showed up ready to ride and quickly came to grips with the challenging Italian course, he was P7 at the end of the session and first Kawasaki.
Free Practice 2 started under threatening skies. The Italian sunshine was replaced with gray skies and thunderclouds. The original plan of starting a revised setup on used tires was scrapped and new tires were fitted to try and make another push before the rain came to secure a top ten position and automatically advance to Superpole 2. After five laps, Ant was in P7 and then the rain came. The rain came down and Ant waited to see if the track would dry. The rain never stopped so Ant and all the other competitors watched as the time ticked down to zero in the session. Ant was again fastest Kawasaki, P7 was secured, and a Superpole 2 berth was achieved.
The overall setup of the bike was working well and Ant used FP3 to try another tire combination before the afternoon’s qualifying session. The short FP3 session saw Ant make another improvement in time and finish the session with a 1:38.568 lap time, good enough for sixth and first Kawasaki.
Superpole 2 was held under bright skies and scorching sun, the track temperature reaching 48 degrees Celsius. The high track temperature resulted in a lack of grip and Ant struggled to get the power to the ground. Ant finished the session in tenth place.
Sunday morning arrived and Ant started warmup with a full fuel load to simulate the bike at the start of the race and to make a final choice on tires for the race. With a full fuel load, Ant finished the session in ninth position with a time of 1:39.122.
The sun made its presence known as the start time for the race edged closer. The track temperature was climbing and the final rear tire choice needed to be made. The last track temperature reading for the race was 46 degrees on the grid. The new rear tire was fitted on the grid and it was all up to Ant to make a push for the front when the lights went out. Ant was able to get a decent start off the line and was in ninth position at the end of the first lap. At the conclusion of lap two, Ant was into seventh position trying to stay with the stronger accelerating Yamahas. By lap 8, Ant was in sixth and pulling away from the following riders. As he started the final lap, Ant was still in sixth and was able to holding off a late charge from Kyle Smith in seventh. When the checkered flag came out, Ant crossed the line in sixth, and was the first Kawasaki.
Post race analysis shows that Ant finished the race in sixth place on the twenty fifth fastest bike through the speed trap. The ten points earned bring Ant’s total to fifty one, moving him into seventh in the riders championship and first Kawasaki rider. The EAB antwest Racing team with only one rider is eighth in the team championship. Ant has also delivered more points than any other rider, or team combination, to Kawasaki’s 67 points total in the manufacturer championship.
Anthony West 13, P6
I’m never happy unless I’m winning, but for our package and lack of budget compared to other teams the weekend went pretty well. We missed the mark a little in the heat of Superpole and that put us a little further back on the grid then I wanted to be but, overall, the team gave me a good motorcycle that we didn’t have to change a whole lot from Friday to Sunday. We were once again the best Kawasaki in the race. Hopefully, the new ECU we are supposed to receive during the summer break will help close the gap to the Yamahas.
