Anthony West claims SBK lead with third place
Images by Sampafotos
Team Kawasaki Brasil rider Anthony West continues to lead the Brazilian Superbike Championship after three rounds. Sunday’s third place points put Ant at the top of the championship standings with 41-points, eight clear of second place.
Anthony West
“The good news is, we are still leading the championship. Unlike Barros and Granado who have hundreds of laps here, we are still making big changes to the bike trying to find a better setup for Interlagos. The team is working really hard and we are making progress, we just need to close the gap to the front.”
Once again the Interlagos track of Sao Paolo, Brazil delivered all four seasons in one weekend. The team and Ant had many things to test to try and close the setup advantage that the Brazil Superbike riders enjoy over the newcomer.
The weekend was also going to be challenging because the Interlagos circuit demolished all the pitboxes in order to rebuild new ones, necessitating the use of a new temporary pitlane. Thursday morning was raining and the first session was skipped.
The second session was to find current track conditions using the previous race weekend’s setup. The third session saw the implementation of a new solution to try and increase edge grip. The team skipped the final session of the day as the temperature dropped significantly and the sun was going down quickly—days are getting shorter as Brazil enters the Autumn season.
Friday arrived and the team implemented another radical change to the setup of the bike. The team and Ant’s efforts were rewarded with a new personal best lap record of 1:36.4 around the 4.4 km circuit. The team continued to work on the power delivery of the awesome ZX-10R engine, trying to help Ant get as much grip as possible.
Saturday the setup work continued and the lap times became more consistent and easier to maintain. Although a little down on one lap pace, the team was optimistic with Ant’s race pace. West qualified in the middle of the front row in second place.
Sunday morning’s 8:45am ten minute warm up was held under cool overcast conditions and West tried the new setup with a full fuel load to simulate the opening laps of the race.
At the end of the session, Ant was in second place and looking forward to the race, however as the 1pm race time approached, the clouds gave way to bright blue skies and intense sun. The track temperature was 36 degrees, significantly warmer then it had been in any earlier session.
Eric Granado demonstrated he had the one lap pace in qualifying, while West and team were hoping to close the gap over race distance on worn tires. When the lights went out, Ant rocketed off the line and made his way to the lead. Unfortunately, it was short lived.
Granado made it past Ant and pulled a small gap. Alex Barros and Ant then fought the entire race distance over second place, allowing Granado to escape. Unlike the first round, Barros was able to beat Ant to the finish line to claim second, leaving Westy with third. Ant continues to lead the Brazilian Superbike Championship, and sits eight-points clear of second place.
Brasil Superbike Race – Round 3 – Result
- Eric Granado 23:28.853
- Alex Barros +5.855
- Anthony West ” Gringo ” +6.063
- Pedro Sampaio +9.344
- Maximiliano Gerardo +9.363
- Danilo Lewis +33.416
- Rodrigo Dazzi +49.415
- Mauriti Junior +49.417
- Diego Viveiros +1:09.130
- Davi Costa +1:12.220
- Julio Fortunato +1:25.757
- José Luiz Teixeira “Cachorrão” +1:40.78
Brazilian Superbike Standings
- Anthony West – Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R – 41
- Maximiliano Gerardô – Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R – 33
- Alex Barros – BMW S1000RR – 29
- Eric Granado – Honda CBR 1000RR – 27
- Pedro Sampaio – Honda CBR 1000RR – 26
- Danilo Lewis – BMW S1000RR – 24
- Bruno Corano – BMW S1000RR – 17
- Diego Pierluigi – Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R – 11
- José Luiz “Cachorrão” – Honda CBR 1000RR – 8
- Juninho Trudes – Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R – 0
Team Kawasaki Brasil is operated by JC Racing. Team Kawasaki Brasil is sponsored by: Steck, Castropil, Flip Racing Moto Parts. Ant West personal sponsors include FuSport, Accent Timber Flooring, Graeme Cavanagh, Arai, SC Exhaust, CHC Leathers
Source: MCNews.com.au