Anthony West

2021: His ban served, Anthony West returns to racing in the Australian Superbike championship.

2018: Back on his own West Racing team for the start of 2018, West had taken three top six finishes when news emerged of another anti-doping infringement, this time in the form of a banned stimulant in a urine sample collected during the Misano round on July 8. 

West was banned from competition from 17 January 2019 until 14 September 2020. But during that time, West raced in some rounds of the 2019 Brazilian Superbike Championship, apparently beleiving it was not covered by his suspension. The FIM responded by extending his ban by another six months, until 14 March 2021.

​​​​​​​2017: Still struggling for a full time ride, West put together his own team for the Phillip Island WSS season opener and again stood on the podium. Struggling to attend all the rounds, West nonetheless took further top ten finishes and was picked by Puccetti Kawasaki when they needed a stand-in rider for the injured Randy Krummenacher. 

Points in three of his four appearances, best of eighth at Portimao, saw Puccetti offer West one of their WSS seats for the final two rounds, a chance he grabbed with both hands by taking 3-5 results.

2016: Without any full time world championship offers, West raced in multiple different classes in 2016, taking a WSS podium at Phillip Island plus appearances in Moto2 and even the Asia Road Race Championship before finishing the season with consistent points finishes in WorldSBK for Pedercini Kawasaki.

2014 & 2015: Remains at QMMF and takes an emotional victory at the 2014 Assen race, his first grand prix win in 11 years, dating back to the same track in 2003. But a difficult 2015, with a best result of seventh, saw West and QMMF split after Misano. 

West returned to the grand prix grid, in the premier-class, when he replaced the injured Karel Abraham at the AB Motoracing Honda team for the final three rounds, with a best finish of 20th.

2012 & 2013: Switches to the new QMMF Racing Team in Moto2, initially on the Moriwaki chassis before a mid-season change to Speed Up. The Australian celebrated two podiums at the end of the season, but in November it was announced that he had failed an anti-doping test carried out back at Le Mans in May. 

West explained that the prohibited substance (Methylhexaneamine) had entered his system through an energy drink ("Mesomorph") that he had purchased, prepared, and consumed on the assumption that it did not contain any prohibited substances since it was purchased in a nutritional shop."

The FIM disqualified from his seventh place finish at the French Grand Prix and handed him a one-month ban, which caused him to miss the 2012 Valencia season finale.

However the World Anti-Doping Agency then appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) for a harsher two-year punishment. The verdict, which didn't arrive until November 2013, saw the CAS only partially uphold the WADA appeal, wiping all of West's results from the 2012 French GP until 19 October 2013 from the record books.

Most notably, it meant West lost the two runner-up positions he claimed at the 2012 Malaysian and Australian rounds. The Australian didn't finish higher than seventh during 2013.

2010 & 2011: Returns to grand prix racing by signing for MZ in the new Moto2 class.  Scores points in just ten races, but a pair of fourth places underline his speed.

2009: Signs to ride for Stiggy Honda in the World Supersport Championship and takes three podiums on his way to seventh in the world championship.

2008: Starts his first full season with Kawasaki in MotoGP, riding alongside John Hopkins, but the ZX-RR has fundamental problems from the start of the season - West in particular battling chronic rear grip issues. Takes just one top nine finish, a career best fifth place at Brno (equally the season’s best by Hopkins) and finishes 18th and last of the full time riders in the world championship. Knows he has lost seat to Marco Melandri long before the end of the season, but proves to be a blessing in disguise when Kawasaki subsequently withdraws from MotoGP.

2007: West began the year as a 250GP privateer on a Team Sicilia Aprilia, before making a career-changing switch to World Supersport in place of injured countryman Kevin Curtain at the official Yamaha WSS team.

West's superb performances on the R6 - a third and two wins from three starts - prompted Yamaha to sign him full time. But by now he'd also caught the eye of Kawasaki, which was looking to replace Olivier Jacque, and Ant split from Yamaha and was back in the MotoGP paddock at Donington Park, on a ZX-RR.

West went on to finish all 11 races race he started for Team Green, with a best result of seventh - which he may well have bettered had it not been for two ride-through penalties he received for starting infringements.

West's Kawasaki deal was initially only until the end of the 2007 season, but he received a substantial boost when he was retained to ride alongside John Hopkins in 2008, after Randy de Puniet jumped ship to Honda LCR.

Career Highlights

• 2006: 11th, 250cc World Championship (Aprilia)
• 2005: 17th, 250cc World Championship (KTM). 1 podium - (GBR)
• 2004: 11th, 250cc World Championship (Aprilia)
• 2003: 7th, 250cc World Championship (Aprilia).1 win (NED), 4 podiums (CAT, NED, GBR, AUS
• 2001: 18th in the (MotoGP) 500cc World Championship with 27 points.
• 2000: Sixth in the 250cc World Championship competing with the Shell Advance Honda team.
• 1999: Joins the Shell Advance Honda team and makes 250cc World Championship debut (MAL) - 12th in the championship.
• 1998: Won Australian 250cc Production title and rider of the year. Makes 125cc World Championship debut (AUS).
• 1997: Switches to road racing.
• 1996: Wins Australian 125cc Long Track Championship and wins Australian 125cc Dirt Track Championship.
• 1995: Third in the Australian 125cc Dirt Track Championship.
• 1994: Third in the Australian 100cc Dirt Track Championship.
• 1993: Dirt Track racing.