QMMF Racing Team’s Anthony West was eighth fastest in the first Moto2 free practice session yesterday and teammate Julian Simon (right) was tenth fastest.
By Mikhil Bhat/Losail
QMMF Moto2 Racing Team riders Anthony West and Julian Simon are confident of doing well in the season ahead and hope to begin the new year with a good performance at the team’s home in Qatar over the weekend.
Simon moved from Italtrans Racing Team to replace Roman Ramos at the QMMF team and that should help the team with the 2009 Moto3/125cc champion bringing in a lot more experience to the outfit.
Simon finished 17th last year, five places behind West and the inputs of two experienced riders should help the team. With only three Speed Up bikes on the Moto2 grid, as compared 20-odd Kalex bikes, dearth of vital information on the machines is only understandable.
“It is difficult for the evolution of the bike. More bikes and riders means good information,” Simon said yesterday.
West added: “When we get to a new track, Kalex can get all the information from one session from so many riders. Every rider rides the bike in a different way and they get all that information straight away.
“As far as information goes, we are a bit handicapped but we are hoping the new changes I have been asking for are a bit better.”
The team can also take heart from the fact that Sam Lowes, the third rider on a Speed Up, topped the timesheets in yesterday’s first free practice session while West and Simon were eighth and tenth fastest respectively.
West is looking forward to work with his new teammate.
“Last two years, the guys were rookies in Moto2. So they weren’t much help in terms of information. With Simon, he is an experienced rider. At times, during testing we both have been as quick as the other. So I think if he tries something and I try something in one session, we can compare notes and we should be able to get better information. So this year it should be a bit better even though it would be harder to beat him than the other teammates I have had but it should bring up the whole team up together.”
Simon, who is in his 13th year in the world championship, is excited and nervous at the same time. “Working with QMMF is a good opportunity for me. It is a really good team and it has potential. They are working towards a good season with good results.
“I am a bit nervous for the new year and hope to put in a good performance. And I hope to get a good result in the first race, which also happens to be the home race for the team.”
West had an impressive start last year, which saw eight points finishes out of first ten races, including a win in Assen, the Netherlands. Out of the next eight races, West was able to finish in points only in the last race in Valencia.
“It wasn’t my fault that we had problems with the bike and those problems never changed. I was trying to get some things changed on the bike towards the end, but it never happened. I was not able to make it with the results. And the other guy on the Speed Up (Sam Lowes) was crashing often. So it was either a bad result or a crash,” West said.
This year, Simon and West seem to be on the same page as far as the requirements of the bike is concerned.
West is hopeful of a top ten performance this year. “Personally I would like to be in top five but it seems to be a bit difficult. Last few years, there were a few issues. I think realistically, if everything goes well, we should be in top ten but it is hard to know. One weekend you can be 20th and next weekend you can be top five. I think it is hard because we are on a different bike but I am hoping to turn that into an advantage. All three of us are trying to get an advantage out of a bike which is different from the others. That means we have to work harder,” the Australian said.
At the front of the Moto2 pack, Tito Rabat is the first Moto2 champion to defend his title, with previous champions making a move up to MotoGP. Rabat is joined by 2014 Moto3 champion Alex Marquez at Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS Racing Kalex this year.
Johann Zarco (Ajo Motorsport Kalex), Luis Salom (Paginas Amarillas HP 40 Kalex), Axel Pons (AGR Team Kalex), Simone Corsi (Forward Racing Kalex) and Thomas Luthi (Derendinger Racing Interwetten Kalex) are also in the mix for what is shaping up to be a very competitive season in Moto2.
