Anthony West to pay severe compensation to Yamaha

Kawasaki’s new MotoGP signing Anthony West has been forced to pay severe compensation to Yamaha to get out of his contract with the factory World Supersport team. 

Following regular rider Kevin Curtain getting injured in Valencia, Yamaha drafted in Superbike man Steve Martin to ride at Assen before agreeing a one race deal for West to ride for the squad at Monza.

After West’s success first time out on the bike where he finished third, Yamaha offered Anthony West a deal to ride for the team for the rest of the season, which he accepted.

It proved to be an excellent decision by Yamaha bosses as Anthony West then went out to win in both Silverstone and Misano. Meanwhile West quit the struggling Scilia 250GP team and was subsequently offered a test ride on the Kawasaki MotoGP bike.

After impressing Kawasaki bosses and with the retirement of Frenchman Olivier Jaque, Kawasaki then offered Anthony West the ride for the remainder of the season.

Anthony West said: “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.
 
“Yamaha didn’t want to block this chance for me; 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.
 
“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.

“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.”

Laurens Klein Koerkamp, Racing Manager, Yamaha Motor Europe added: “We are obviously disappointed by releasing a winning rider from his contract, which is not our normal conduct.

“But rather then going to court we have been able to find a financial settlement; a solution we can only accept because Anthony was a replacement rider drafted in during the season and only had a theoretical chance to win the championship.

“Nevertheless, we deeply regret his decision, which leaves the team disappointed. All the same, Anthony is a good rider and I wish him all the best in pursuing his dream. We are currently working to replace him and have plenty of time before the next race.”