Ant West back in for World Championship

In a late line-up change, West has been signed up to ride for the QMMF Racing Team in Moto2, replacing fellow Aussie Damian Cudlin, who reportedly struggled with the Moriwaki Moto2 machine in pre-season testing.

The 30-year-old West, who has ridden in the intermediate category for the past two seasons with MZ Racing, with a best race result of fourth, will use his vast World Championship experience alongside Spanish rider Elena Rosell in the Qatari Federation team.

West had earlier been linked to a ride with one of the CRT teams in MotoGP, but this fell through for financial reasons. Before the QMMF offer came up, West had secured a ride with BMW Sueprsonic in the British Superbike Championship, but the chance to get back into the top flight of racing was too good to refuse.

"It's great to be back in Grand Prix racing, with a team that operates on such a highly professional level and with the support of Moriwaki, one of the most experienced and highly regarded manufacturers," said West in a press release issued by the QMMF team on March 31st.

"We haven't had the chance to go through the pre-season preparations together, so we can't expect miracles at the team's home Grand Prix of Qatar next week. But I'm really excited about this opportunity and I'll push to the maximum to get the best possible result!" West added.

image: motogp.com