Tag Archives: Brazilian Superbike Championship

Anthony West leads Bazilian Superbikes after Round 3

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.”

Brazilian SBK Rnd Interlagos Anthony West
Anthony West celebrates another podium in Brazilian Superbikes, this time at Round 3

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.

Brazilian SBK Rnd Interlagos Anthony West
Anthony West – Brazilian Superbike Championship Round 3

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.

Brazilian SBK Rnd Interlagos Anthony West
Anthony West – Brazilian Superbike Championship Round 3

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.

Brazilian SBK Rnd Interlagos Anthony West
Anthony West – Brazilian Superbike Championship Round 3

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.

Brazilian SBK Rnd Interlagos Anthony West
Anthony West – Brazilian Superbike Championship Round 3

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.

Brazilian SBK Rnd Interlagos Anthony West
Anthony West – Brazilian Superbike Championship Round 3

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.

Brazilian SBK Rnd Interlagos Alex Barros
Alex Barros – Brazilian Superbike Championship Round 3 – Image courtesy of BMW Group

Brasil Superbike Race – Round 3 – Result

  1. Eric Granado 23:28.853
  2. Alex Barros +5.855
  3. Anthony West ” Gringo ” +6.063
  4. Pedro Sampaio +9.344
  5. Maximiliano Gerardo +9.363
  6. Danilo Lewis +33.416
  7. Rodrigo Dazzi +49.415
  8. Mauriti Junior +49.417
  9. Diego Viveiros +1:09.130
  10. Davi Costa +1:12.220
  11. Julio Fortunato +1:25.757
  12. José Luiz Teixeira “Cachorrão” +1:40.78

Brazilian Superbike Standings

  1. Anthony West – Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R – 41
  2. Maximiliano Gerardô – Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R – 33
  3. Alex Barros – BMW S1000RR – 29
  4. Eric Granado – Honda CBR 1000RR – 27
  5. Pedro Sampaio – Honda CBR 1000RR – 26
  6. Danilo Lewis – BMW S1000RR – 24
  7. Bruno Corano – BMW S1000RR – 17
  8. Diego Pierluigi – Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R – 11
  9. José Luiz “Cachorrão” – Honda CBR 1000RR – 8
  10. 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

Anthony West on the podium in Brazil despite blown engine

2019 Brazilian Superbike Championship

Anthony West retains championship lead

Round 2 of the Brazilian Superbike championship at Interlagos proved a challenging weekend with weather and technical issues cutting short practice.

Brazilian SBK Rnd Interlagos Anthony West
Anthony West

Despite an overheating engine Anthony West was able to finish the Superbike race in third place. That was good enough for the 37-year-old to retain his championship lead. His Kawasaki cried enough on the cool-down lap, leaving him to catch a ride on the back of another rider’s bike back to park ferme.

Anthony West

“The second round of the Brazilian SBK Championship is in the books and we have with the championship points lead. The race was declared wet but then it stopped raining. Only one rider gambled on slicks. I struggled with grip and an overheating engine, nursing the bike home in third to retain the points lead. Engine locked up on cool down lap, sorry to my team – you guys have a motor to rebuild! It’s a shame, that one was fast.”

Brazilian SBK Rnd Interlagos Anthony West
Brazilian Superbike Round 2 – Interlagos

Brazil Superbike Round Two Report

The Kawasaki Racing Team-Brasil (KRT-Brasil) squad had prepared a full testing schedule to be completed when they arrived at the Interlagos circuit just outside Sao Paolo, unfortunately, Mother Nature had other plans, with the weekend proving a trying one for Ant West and the team alike.

Brazilian SBK Rnd Interlagos Anthony West
Brazilian Superbike Round 2 – Interlagos

The previous weekend had seen the circuit hosting Lollapalooza Brazil and the ensuing rain delayed the break down of the stages and preparation of the track for the second round of the Brazilian Superbike Championship. The entire Thursday test schedule was scuttled by the organisers as a result.

Friday arrived and the team was all set to try and condense their planned eight practice sessions into three. The team was looking for a new solution for the unique layout of the Interlagos track in search of grip, but an electrical gremlin in the form of a malfunctioning quickshifter ensured another entire session was lost. Eight testing sessions were now reduced to two.

Brazilian SBK Rnd Interlagos Anthony West
Brazilian Superbike Round 2 – Interlagos

Saturday’s free practice saw Ant West reduce his personal best lap time around the circuit to 1:36.7, leaving him ready to fight for pole position in the ten-minute Superpole session. Just as Ant was up to speed and ready to start his time attack, Alex Barros crashed and the session was red flagged, with the session not restarted and West relegated to fourth on the grid.

Sunday morning greeted riders with a steady rain that drenched the track, while the schedule only allowed for a single ten-minute warm up session, which was all the team had to test a wet setting that they developed without any on track testing over the weekend.

Brazilian SBK Rnd Interlagos Anthony West
Superbike Race Start – Interlagos

West managed to finish the warm up session in P1, two seconds clear of second place as the weather continued to wreak havoc on the team’s plans, before the rain stopped and the track quickly started drying, leaving teams to decide what tyres to race on.

When it came time for West to head to the grid, the team discussed switching to slicks from wets, however in the final moments before the race, the sky dropped a little more water and the team decided the safe decision was to stay on wets. Only one rider gambled on dry tyres.

Small problems plagued Ant during the race, most noticeably, a severely overheating engine and a lack of rear grip as the rear wet disintegrated on the abrasive Interlagos tarmac.

Brazilian SBK Rnd Interlagos Anthony West
Superbike Race Start – Interlagos

Ant was able to defend his podium position and championship points lead when he crossed the line in third position. After receiving the checkered flag, the engine came to an abrupt halt when it locked up due to severe overheating.

Anthony West

“Well… That weekend did not go to plan. It seemed like we were fighting issues from before the official weekend even started. Thursday testing was cancelled, we missed an entire session with a quickshifter failure, the rain came Sunday morning and the track was drying for the race. The good news is the team never stopped working towards finding solutions and we just kept trying. During the race, I realised my engine was overheating and I tried to salvage as many points as I could. I was able to hold on to third place and the championship points lead. After I finished the race, the motor made a horrible noise and just stopped. I parked my bike and had to jump on the back of a competitors bike for a ride to parc ferme.”

Brazilian SBK Rnd Interlagos Anthony West
Anthony West
Brazilian SBK Rnd Interlagos Anthony West
Brazilian Superbike Round 2 – Interlagos

Source: MCNews.com.au

Anthony West bombs in to Brazil Superbike with victory

Ant West goes wild in Brazil with Superbike opener win


Still engaged in the fight for his race licence with the FIM, Anthony West has grabbed an opportunity to race in Brazil with the Kawasaki Racing Team Brasil, and hopes to complete the entire 10-round season. Brazil is outside FIM jurisdiction.

Brazilian Superbike Championship Anthony West
Anthony West – Brazilian Superbike Championship 2019

West has been nicknamed ‘The Gringo’ by the local racers after a rider briefing, a name he’s adopted with pride and now has plastered across the back of his leathers.

Anthony West

“I’m excited to get back on a superbike. After everything the FIM has done to try and stop my career, I jumped at the chance to ride the ZX-10R in the Brazilian Superbike championship. I was here and able to meet the team and ride the bike at the Interlagos circuit for the pre-season test. After riding the bike, I was more determined then ever to race again in 2019. Thanks to everyone at JC Racing and Kawasaki Brasil for making this happen. Thanks to Arai helmets and Fusports boots for sticking with me everywhere I go. And thanks to all fans who support me every step of the way. I figured after seeing how fast Alex Barros is at 48 and Troy Bayliss at 49 and still carving up younger riders that gives me hope I still have more then 10 years left in the sport. You’re not getting rid of me that easy.”

Brazilian Superbike Championship Anthony West
Anthony West’s Kawasaki Brasil ZX-10R – Brazilian Superbike Championship 2019

West kicks off Brazilian Championship tilt at Interlagos Circuit

Westy and team arrived at the Interlagos Circuit outside Sao Paolo, on Thursday morning with a full schedule of testing prepared ahead of competing in the opening round of the Brazilian Superbike Championship.

Unfortunately the weather wreaked havoc on these plans, with light rain all day and a damp the trac, but not wet enough for rain tyres and no dry line for slick tyres, the entire test program was scrapped and would have to wait until FP1.

Friday saw the team struggling with various electronics issues that were upsetting the bike on corner entry. The team were able to come up with a number of electronic strategies and chassis settings that allowed Ant to extract all the performance out of the Pirelli control tyres, they were rewarded on Saturday with a front row starting position.

Brazilian Superbike Championship Anthony West
Anthony West – Brazilian Superbike Championship 2019

Sunday morning arrived with clear skies and warm temperatures. By the time the lights went out for the start of the race, the air and track temperatures were hotter than the team had experienced all weekend.

With the demanding track layout of the Interlagos circuit, and the highest temperatures the team had seen all weekend, tyre wear was on everyone’s mind. This left Ant having to ride the bike without traction control, while the team was never able to complete a race simulation on Friday or Saturday to check for tyre life.

Brazilian Superbike Championship Anthony West
Anthony West claims a narrow victory from Alex Barros – Brazilian Superbike Championship 2019

Ant was able to get a great start and led the field into turn one with ex Grand Prix star Alex Barros right behind him. Polesitter Eric Granado had a problem off the line and pulled into the pits with a mechanical failure. That left just Ant and Barros to battle it out at the front over the entire race distance, swapping the lead multiple times while leaving the rest of the field in their wake.

When the checkered flag flew, Ant crossed the stripe first with Barros a whisker behind him.

Anthony West – P1

“That was fun. From not being sure if I was going to be able to race this year, to standing on the top of the podium in my first race in the Brazilian Superbike championship, I couldn’t be happier. We lost a whole day of testing to the weather, we struggled with electronic issues, setup issues, and I injured my foot on the farm back in Australia. We just kept working and steadily made the bike better. It feels great to win a race and I can’t wait for the next round of the championship.”

Brazilian Superbike Championship Anthony West
Anthony West- Brazilian Superbike Championship 2019

The next round of the championship is back at Interlagos on April 14th.


Anthony West and the FIM Drug tests saga

The following statement from the FIM was released in November 2018, with no further updates since. The FIM originally notified Anthony West September 13, 2018, even though the FIM Anti-Doping Department were first notified of an “adverse analytical finding” from the testing facility in Germany on July 30, 2018. The FIM Medical Director notified the FIM Legal Department Director on August 24, 2018. The FIM Legal Department waited over two weeks to notify Anthony West, despite being required to give riders prompt notification of these findings.

“[Anthony] West remains banned from competing in any FIM motorcycling competition or activity until further notice. His ban is pending a final decision on the merits of the case.”

West’s latest statement on his continued battle for his race licence is as follows:

Anthony West

“FIM never responds to emails and does not want to talk on the phone. I’m still fighting. I do not know how long it will take.”

Source: MCNews.com.au