West on Pedercini Chassis Change
Stand-in rider Anthony West continued his work with Pedercini at the one day Official Test at Misano World Circuit – and will be back in Laguna
Anthony West has been riding the Pedercini Kawasaki in place of injured Sylvain Barrier since the Fassi Malaysian Round, earning a good haul of points for the team in impressive top ten and top five performances. After racing action was over for the Pirelli Riviera di Rimini Round at Misano, West was back on track with the team to test some bigger changes – principally, a whole new chassis.
“It’s quite different,” explained West. “First time out I had a lot more feeling in the front braking into the turn – it just gave a lot more feeling on the front and better understanding of the tyre. So that was immediately good. The lap time wasn’t good because we had some other issues to try with setup, but as far as chassis and everything goes, it was definitely a step. We just need a bit more time and work.”
GP winner West was left wishing for more track time given the damp start to the day and his lack of time on the bike, but the Australian is happy that first indications show the direction and new chassis are a positive step.
“It takes a long time to change a chassis so we lost a lot of track time from that, and the damp this morning didn’t help, but I’m happy we made this change,” said the veteran racer. “There’s a few differences – especially stiffness – and it just gives a whole different feeling to the bike. Especially here in some of the fast corners where it just changes how the bike turns in. When you get on the gas, the feeling of the bike completely changes, and braking into the turn it gives a completely different feeling on the tyre, so it’s definitely a big improvement. We just need to work on other areas around it.”
With the recovery period of Barrier remaining an unknown after his crash in Aragon Race 2, West is also set to race for the team at Laguna Seca in July, getting the green light during the test day at Misano.
“I asked if I’d be racing in Laguna and they said yes – so it’s race by race and I’m ready to ride. I love going to America and I’ve ridden Laguna before, so I know the track, and it’s been good today to have been able to test and go into the next Race with a better bike and a better setup.”
Round 9 at Mazda Raceday Laguna Seca takes place from the 8th-10th July at the classic American venue, with one last haul of points to play for before the summer break.
