Top ten is where we should be, says West

QMMF Moto2 Racing Team’s Anthony West (right) rides ahead of NGM Forward Racing’s Mattia Pasini during the Commercial Bank Grand Prix of Qatar at the Losail International Circuit on Sunday.By Sports Reporter/DohaGoing into the first race of the 2014 season, QMMF Racing Team rider Anthony West had told Gulf Times that he hoped to repay his team for the faith they had showed in him when the times were tough with some good performances on the team’s Speed Up bike this year.He did.The Australian’s ninth-place finish in the Moto2 category on Sunday is his best finish in Qatar. The result also meant that West raced to fourth straight points finish for QMMF Racing, having scored points in last three races of the 2013 season — Australia, Japan and Valencia.“I think it is a good way to start the season and I am happy with the race. The top ten is where we should be, so I am happy,” West said after the race.West had only qualified 26th, but a good start propelled him into points. Eleventh after one lap, he worked his way up to eighth place towards the end of the race, before losing two positions again in a hectic final against German Sandro Cortese and Spaniard Jordi Torres.Tenth at the chequered flag, West moved up one position to ninth when Japanese rider Takaaki Nakagami, who had been in second place initially, was disqualified due to technical reasons.“But I am disappointed with the weekend in general because of my qualifying. I ruined a lot of races last year with not qualifying so well and I think this is another one where I could have been a lot better. But the result is still quite strong.“Last year, we crashed here and didn’t score any points, now, we scored points and had a good race. We now need to continue to work on the bike. I had a lot of problems with the traction and it was hard to hold off the group behind me.“I sort of got caught up with Cortese and that let Torres pass as well, so I lost two positions in the last lap, which I am disappointed about. I hope we can improve from here and I don’t see a reason why we shouldn’t. I just need to relax a bit more instead of stressing myself, but still work hard. This is my goal for the next race.”Meanwhile, West’s new team-mate, Spanish CEV Championship winner Roman Ramos finished 19th. The team’s wild card entry Qatar’s Mashel al-Naimi pulled out because of clutch problems.“It was a tough and long race for me. I am not used to this kind of racing, but I had a lot of fun,” Ramos said. “On the first lap, I ran off the track and lost a lot of time, but I was able to find my rhythm back and catch up with the others, doing much better lap times than in practice. That was a great feeling. I am happy with our achievements here and I can’t wait for the next race at Austin.”Al-Naimi appreciated the chance he got to race with the best but was disappointed that a “decent” finish slipped out his hands. “During the warm-up this evening, I felt there was a problem with the clutch, so I told my mechanics, who changed it for the race. At the start, the new clutch worked better, but I still had some problems and strange vibrations when releasing the clutch lever, which made me run off the track on the second lap of the race. I tried to continue after that, but the vibrations became worse and I had to stop.“It was a pity because a decent result would have been possible. I want to thank my mechanics for all their work and the entire team for giving me the chance to race here at my home Grand Prix.“I hope I will be able to do another wild card ride somewhere in Europe during this season. It is a fantastic experience to ride in the Moto2 class and I hope I will be better prepared next time.”