Brno MotoGP Reaction: Anthony West storms to career best fifth

Aussie Anthony West stormed to his best ever MotoGP result to claim fifth place in Brno today.

Although too late to save him from the axe at Kawasaki, West still revelled in his superb performance, which easily eclipsed American team-mate John Hopkins.

Starting from the front row of the grid, Hopkins faded badly to 11th having suffered rear tyre grip problems in the second half of the race.

West, who has been a regular backmarker in 2008, said: “To finish fifth is a really great feeling and it just shows exactly what we are capable of achieving.

“I got a good start to the race, but I dropped down to sixth after a few laps and I was worried that I wouldn’t be able to fight back, especially after not having much dry time on the bike here. However, my confidence grew as we went on and I was able to catch up with John and pass him for fourth at the halfway point.

“The grip levels dropped off towards the end, so there was nothing I could do about Shinya other than to continue lapping consistently to the flag. I felt so much more comfortable on the bike than I have done previously and the Bridgestone tyres definitely had an advantage over some of the other riders.

“I had to ride really hard today, in fact I didn’t even look at my pit board until halfway through, so there’s still more work to be done as we had to push a lot to get out of the turns fast enough. Thankfully it paid off and fifth place is my best result yet in MotoGP, so I’m really happy.”