By Mike NicksKawasaki's
Anthony West will miss the
MotoGP test session at Barcelona this week to fly to Japan to work with engineers on the ZX-RR's traction problems on the exit from corners.
The 26-year-old Australian will ride the bike on Kawasaki's test track, while
John Hopkins and factory test rider Olivier Jacque will handle duties at Montmelo.
"They're sending me to Japan just to work on this problem," a fired-up West said after the Catalunya GP. "I told Kawasaki after Mugello that I was prepared to test every day to fix it."
The move is seen as positive backing for West, whose confidence has slumped recently as he has suffered a difficult year with the bike.
But he scored his best result of the year with 12th place on Sunday - it's hardly his fault if there were only 13 finishers - and believes that he retains Kawasaki's support.
In Spain, Hopkins' and Jacque's work will include assessing new chassis parts for the ZX in parallel attempts to resolve the traction issue.
