That ride is certain to be at Kawasaki, for whom West recently tested, and he looks set to take the place of the injured, and underperforming, Oliver Jacque for the remainder of the year - starting this weekend at
Donington Park - although Kawasaki is yet to officially confirm the move.
West was hired by Yamaha to replace 2006 WSS runner-up Kevin Curtain, who was injured at the Valencia round back in April. Swapping his 250GP two-stroke machine for a 600 stock based four-stroke, West showed his capability very quickly, finishing third in his first race at Monza.
West was initially contracted only to ride for Yamaha in the Monza event. But, after it was confirmed that Curtain's recovery period was going to be longer than originally anticipated, Yamaha and West extended the one-event agreement to the remainder of the season. He went on to win the Supersport race at
Silverstone and last weekend's round in Misano.
"It's such a strange feeling, making this decision. Yamaha gave me a fantastic chance to show my potential on the R6. It's thanks to this ride that I feel I've got my career back on track. To leave Yamaha now is sad but it's such a great chance for me to follow my dream to go to MotoGP" explained Ant, who previously rode as a privateer in 500GP.
"Yamaha didn't want to block this chance for me [and] I'm grateful they believed in me and gave me the chance to prove myself. I want to add that I'm really sorry to the supersport team guys and I'd like to thank them for all their hard work and support. The crew have been great and the bike was fast from the first minute I sat on it. I've not been used to such a professional team and they really made me feel at home."
West has accepted a financial compensation agreement with Yamaha to terminate his contract early.
"The financial compensation I've got to pay is severe but I've got the chance to show what I can do on a
MotoGP bike and I hope it's worth it," he explained. "It was important for me to be released from the team by mutual agreement; I'm still young and Yamaha is a good company and, who knows, maybe at some point in my career we can work together again."
