MCNEWS.COM.AU - The ultimate in motorcycle news MotoGP 2005 - Round 14 - Doha
Westy Race Report
October 2nd, 2005		 MCNEWS.COM.AU - The ultimate in motorcycle news

Australian motorcycle rider Ant West will miss today's 250cc Qatar Motorcycle Grand Prix. There were engine problems with his factory Red Bull KTM in yesterday's second and final qualifying session.

West said he had been informed by his team that a decision had been made to withdraw from the 13th round of the 250cc world championship.

The 24-year-old from the Gold Coast had earlier qualified 13th on the grid at Qatar with a best lap of 2-mins 4.594-secs around the 5.3km circuit at Doha.

He set the time on his 16th lap in the second qualifying session, held in hot conditions. On his next lap he was forced to stop riding because of an engine problem.

In the previous championship round, at Sepang in Malaysia last Sunday (September 25), West retired after five laps because of an engine problem.

The newly-developed KTM 250 made its debut in the rain-affected British Grand Prix at Donington Park in July and West finished second. He has contested a total of five races on the machine for the Austrian motorcycle manufacturer.

West has made a total of 84 grand prix starts in the 125cc, 250cc, and 500cc classes since 1998. He has five top-three podium finishes in the 250cc class, including one victory, in the Dutch Grand Prix at Assen in 2003.

ANT WEST QUOTES: "I'm always keen to race, but the team feels it's best not to take any risks. It's the right decision because of the engine issues. This is a new bike so you have to expect some problems. There's not much we can do to change anything at the moment because we are in the middle of the four 'flyaway' races. I'm told there will new (engine) parts when we get back to Europe."

"The problem here (Qatar) happened after I came down the main straight and went through the first two corners. When I accelerated the engine felt strange. I started to pull the clutch in and the wheel locked up. The bike slid sideways and I just caught it. I nearly crashed. I was lucky to stay on. My lap times were better in the second (qualifying) session after we made some changes to the bike set-up. In the first session the bike didn't want to turn, but things improved."
 

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