West 'needs to justify place in MotoGP'.

Oops that sounds serious...
(maybe an excuse to make way for Marco??)

I don't know why he has the ride anyway! He's not exactly the best rider in the world, is he?

Kawasaki gambled on quick climate changes, including more rain. Though every round except Qatar and Laguna had wet sessions, only a few races were wet. Bad luck for Westy. An excellent rain rider, but ill equiped to set up a bike and ride it succesfully in the dry. Back to Supersports or WSBK, he will be much more happier and more succesfull over there. Too bad for him, but that's racing.

West is a quality rider, hampered by the fact that the 2008 kawasaki is a pig on wheels.
In retrospect Westy would probably have been top 6 in WSS if he'd stayed there. Hope he gets a decent ride in 2009 (or even the second half of 2008 :-( )

Mike: A pig on wheels that Hacking rode to a better time, a better finish, and with much, much, much less set-up and practise time. don't blame the bike for AW failings. I hope the bike improves after the break. I hope AW lands on his feet.

-****

It would be interesting to see Kawi put Melandri on the bike once Ducati lets him go. Hopefully his confidence isn't too shot from his poor performance on the Duc. Too bad for Westy, I agree that WSS or WSB would be a better place for him.

Nooo! Melandri's far too talented to end up on the Kawasaki - that bike just isn't competitive. He'll be wallowing mid-pack.

I'm not sure what happened to Marco this year, but just let Hayden and Melandri swap rides, and we should see some better racing

Richard - There's a piece on Crash.net or Autosport where its reported that Hacking has given exactly the same feedback(poor front end and harsh power delivery) on the Kawa as Hopper and Westy.
Maybe its that Hacking could ride round the bikes deficits better than West?
I hope that Anthony can reap the rewards for all the testing he has put in in Japan and that Kawasaki dont dump him and replace him with Melandri. I hope they run a third bike for Marco if he leaves Ducati.

It has to be devastating to Westy's self esteem that the oldest guy on the grid, in his first MotoGP race, should so outperform him. Granted that Jamie knows Leguna, but still a very poor ride from Ant. I am amazed that he is still riding the Kawa.

Mike,
I'm sure Melandri would rather be midpack then last place.

I AM NOT A WESTY FAN BUT HOW CAN THEY COMMENT ON HIS RIDING WHEN THE KAWASAKI THEY ARE GIVING HIM IS A PILE OF **** AND HOW ABOUT HOPPER HE ISNT EXACTLY A RIDING GOD SO HOW ABOUT KAWASAKI POINTING THE FINGER AT HIM ASWELL!!!!!!

Good sir, please back away from the CAPS LOCK key.

i never knew why hopper when there, i thought man things were going good on the suzi! but back to West, sadly dont expect to be on the bike next season, shame as my GF always cheers when his bike come on screen for some reason lol

Its KAWASAKI that needs to justify its presence in the paddock.

Fire Yoda and make better bike

Your dead right xx why should he kill himself to come tenth
just look at hopper trying to ride around the problems you can only push your luck so far

It's amazing how well he went last year and this year the opposite.Unfortunately his talent is wasted, remember Donington in the wet giving KTM there first podium.On the right bike I think he could do well maybe not a champioship but surely a win or 3 would be possible

Don't understand why West is lambasted for poor performance on a bike that has never been anywhere near a front runner, yet Melandri who is also running consistently at the back of the field on a bike that is capable of winning the championship is reported to be in negotitions to replace him at Kawasaki! Kawasakis seem to be a curse on many a riders career, including McCoy, Pitt, Laconi(superbike), West and I suspect also Hopkins. As for taking the number 13, it would have to make you superstitious given West's poor performances since changing from 14.

Too right kwaka
I've always backed westy I just wish they could give him a bike that doesn't spin up every time he opens the throttle you can see it out of the corners.I think that the kawasaki has the weight bias too far forward the duc and yam have a more rear bias but I'm no engineer

Last year the Kawa looked like a reasonable bike in need of a rider. I think the truth is Yamaha and Honda have made a lot of improvement this year and Kawasaki have treaded water. As an Aussie and a Kawasaki owner I am really disappointed with how West has gone but he needs to do more than light up in the wet. It maybe correct that he doesn't know how to set up a bike because I think the guy can ride but going fast in technical Moto GP is more han that. What has happened to Kawasaki's race dept because thay are rubbish in WSB too.

I think that in the pursuit of horsepower they have made it too peaky I saw a interview with him a few weeks ago and he mentioned that he was have a lot of trouble getting the power too the ground (just like last years ZX-10 roadbike ) I agree that he needs help with bike setup Kawasaki need a good development rider