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Eleven years after he last won a race at Assen, Anthony West stayed true to his nickname of ‘The Rain Man’ to power QMMF Racing Team to its first Moto2 victory at the Dutch circuit yesterday. |
The Australian veteran, keeping his Speed Up bike on wet Dunlops right from the beginning, took advantage of crashes all around on a wet Assen track and rose from 23rd on the grid to win the race 0.318 seconds ahead of Maverick Vinales.
West’s success marks the second Grand Prix victory of his career, after winning the Dutch TT 2003 in the 250 cc class in similar track conditions.
Heavy downpour had delayed the start of the race by 20 minutes. When it did start, West began his hunt and went up to 7th on lap one itself. He moved up to third in the fifth lap before both riders in front of him — Sam Lowes and Simone Corsi — crashed.
Lap 15 onwards, Vinales started closing in on the Australian but in the end found himself on the second step of the podium.
“I am happy! It worked out well in the end and I am really happy for myself and for the team. The last races were difficult and it feels good to have a strong result, which is also a boost to my confidence for the next races,” West, who is one of only 2 Australians to win a 250cc/Moto2 race in the past 26 years, with the other being former MotoGP champion Casey Stoner, said after the race.
“I won my first Grand Prix here at Assen eleven years ago and my Dad, who doesn’t come to many races, was present back then. All I tried in the years since that first victory was to win again and the fact that it happened in similar conditions and with my Dad here once again, is a really funny situation,” added West, who had got his dad his first permanent pass for the championship this year.
West has scored points in all the races this season, except one — Italy. With yesterday’s win, West moved up three places, into the top ten. He is now eighth with 58 points and 99 points behind leader Esteve Rabat.
Qatar Motor and Motorcycle Federation president Nasser Khalifa al-Attiyah was ecstatic at the victory. “The race was fantastic. We started fighting to be in the front midway through the race. Anthony had a strong rhythm. We were on wet tyres from the beginning and that paid off. It helps when you make quick and right decisions. This is an amazing result. It is big for Qatar, big for QMMF and big for the motorsport. It shows that Qatar is one of the strongest countries in the region,” al-Attiyah told Gulf Times yesterday.
“Anthony may not come up with good practice and qualifying times but he is really good with race times. He is experienced and knows how to manage his race time.”
Al-Attiyah said that keeping in mind that the QMMF Racing Team are from outside Europe, the win is a huge boost to their confidence, but also a challenge at the same time.
“In terms of our next races, it is a challenge to ensure that we have proper strategy and optimum preparation for each race. We need more testing and unlike most other teams, we are from outside Europe. It is easy for teams here to test more. But in our case it needs investment and logistics. But we are focused and are trying to find the right direction to be in the front,” he said.
Despite a difficult end to the last season, QMMF stayed with West this season and al-Attiyah was glad that the decision paid off. “Anthony is a big name. He helps us develop new chassis, new bikes, the team. He is a MotoGP level rider after all, who has raced with the likes of Rossi and Hayden. He gives accurate inputs and information for setups. This is not easy for a beginner,” al-Attiyah said.
He added: “I want to thank HH the Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani for his support. This win is a gift of Ramadan from us. Also to HH Sheikh Abdulla bin Khalifa al-Thani, the special advisor to the Emir; HE Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad al-Thani; Prime Minister of Qatar HE Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa al-Thani; Minister of Sport HE Salah bin Ghanem al-Ali; and to the people of Qatar. Ramadan Kareem to all.”