West and QMMF improve at Le Mans MotoGP

West's result was even more impressive considering he qualified the QMMF Moriwaki way back in 27th place. Running as high as fifth in the race's closing stages, the end result was still a top result for the QMMF squad, in what they've described as a dream start to the season. West's previous best result was 16th place at round 2 at Jerez. West's QMMF team mate, Spanish female rider Elena Rosell, DNF'd after 18 laps.

The team, which is now the sole representative with a Moriwaki chassis on the grid, will take heart from the fact that West was so competitive in the treacherous conditions. Most of the Moto2 field are using Suter or Kalex chassis.

West was a last minute replacement for Damian Cudlin in the squad this year, and did not have the luxury of pre-season testing. Both West and the QMMF team have stated that their performance so far this season (West has finished ahead of his qualifying position in each round) should help the team progress in all areas at future rounds.

"We had a problem with rear tyre grip in the warm-up this morning and tried to fix it with a different set-up for the race," West said. "The changes that we made improved things a little bit but not enough. On the opening laps of the race, I had the first few highsiders and was close to crashing on a few occasions, before I managed to find a way to ride the bike smoothly and more effectively. This way, I passed many riders and got closer to the front.

"Halfway through the race, the bike became a little easier to ride, but then the rain got stronger and I was close to crashing again. All in all, it must have been about ten times that I could have gone down, sometimes I was completely out of the seat with my feet off the footpegs. Trying to find enough grip was difficult and I was lucky to stay on. I was a bit angry when the group I was riding in re-passed me in the end and I lost two positions.

"The result could have been even better, but all things considered, I am still happy. It was good for the team to get this seventh place and I think we can build on this and continue from there!"

Image: motogp.com