wombat666
Administrator
Team manager Luis Solano spoke to motogp.com following West’s fantastic victory in tricky conditions at the Dutch TT, a second career win for West – who also won at Assen in the wet in 2003.
Indeed there were exactly 11 years to the day between West’s triumphs as he set a new record for the longest time between Grand Prix wins for a rider.
West’s perseverance is not lost on Solano who stated, “The last year and a half has not been good for him personally. Assen is a track he likes and he won there 11 years ago on a 250. The circumstances were not easy, we know he rides well in the wet, but this race started in the wet and then it dried and they rode with wet tyres on a dry surface which is also a very delicate situation. He knew how to handle the race all the way through, in all conditions.”
Solano added, “Obviously that was a boost for him as he is 32 years-old and is fighting with riders who are 20 or 22 and who are strong, and that has obviously given him a lot of energy to prove he’s a rider who not only does well in wet or difficult conditions, but also in the dry. Remember that this year he has had other good dry results.”
From a team perspective the win at Assen has also been cherished by Solano and his colleagues. He explained, “This is the fourth year that the team has competed in the World Championship. In 2012 we got two good results, but we needed something, since we have not got the results we wanted in the last year and a half, for various reasons, despite the effort made by the Federation and the team at every race. Getting this kind of result is always rewarding and always good. Is an important boost especially for the team to keep working hard and get the best possible results in the remaining races.”
Anthony West is a really good bloke and one who has been screwed over the years, even as far back as the Two Stroke days with Shell Advance, he got the 500 V-Twin and his 'Asian' team mate the 500 V-Four.
Indeed there were exactly 11 years to the day between West’s triumphs as he set a new record for the longest time between Grand Prix wins for a rider.
West’s perseverance is not lost on Solano who stated, “The last year and a half has not been good for him personally. Assen is a track he likes and he won there 11 years ago on a 250. The circumstances were not easy, we know he rides well in the wet, but this race started in the wet and then it dried and they rode with wet tyres on a dry surface which is also a very delicate situation. He knew how to handle the race all the way through, in all conditions.”
Solano added, “Obviously that was a boost for him as he is 32 years-old and is fighting with riders who are 20 or 22 and who are strong, and that has obviously given him a lot of energy to prove he’s a rider who not only does well in wet or difficult conditions, but also in the dry. Remember that this year he has had other good dry results.”
From a team perspective the win at Assen has also been cherished by Solano and his colleagues. He explained, “This is the fourth year that the team has competed in the World Championship. In 2012 we got two good results, but we needed something, since we have not got the results we wanted in the last year and a half, for various reasons, despite the effort made by the Federation and the team at every race. Getting this kind of result is always rewarding and always good. Is an important boost especially for the team to keep working hard and get the best possible results in the remaining races.”
Anthony West is a really good bloke and one who has been screwed over the years, even as far back as the Two Stroke days with Shell Advance, he got the 500 V-Twin and his 'Asian' team mate the 500 V-Four.