MCNEWS.COM.AU - The ultimate in motorcycle news MotoGP 2005 - Round 13 - Sepang
Westy Race Report
September 25th, 2005		 MCNEWS.COM.AU - The ultimate in motorcycle news

Engine problems forced Australia's factory Red Bull KTM motorcycle racer Ant West to make an early exit from today's 250cc Malaysian Grand Prix at Sepang.

The 24-year-old from the Gold Coast withdrew from the 12th round of the 250cc world championship on the sixth lap when in 10th position.

West, who started 17th on the grid, improved to 11th after the opening lap of the race on the 5.5km Sepang circuit.

The race was West's fifth on the newly-developed KTM 250. He scored no world championship points, and remained 15th overall in the series with an unchanged tally of 30.

Australia's Casey Stoner won the race at Sepang on a Carrera LCR Aprilia. World championship leader Daniel Pedrosa of Spain crashed his Telefonica MoviStar Honda, but retained the series lead with 226 points, with Stoner second on 188.

The next round of the 250cc world championship is in Qatar on October 2, followed by the Australian Grand Prix at Phillip island on October 16.

ANT WEST QUOTES: "Something in the engine broke when I was coming out of one of the tight corners. I was going up through the gears when all of a sudden the bike lost power. I pulled the clutch in because I wasn't sure if the engine had seized or not. Then I rode of the circuit and parked it. It's disappointing, but this is a new bike and you have to expect there will be some problems. The engine had been reliable all through practice and qualifying. The positive thing for me today was I got a better start than in the last few races. I beat some riders off the line, and then I passed some others in the first few corners. There was a crash in front of me on the first lap, but I had time to avoid everything. We are still searching for more straight-line speed, but I'm told we won't have new engine parts until we get back to Europe after the 'flyaway' races in Qatar and Australia."
 

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