Anthony West competed in his 200th grand prix on Sunday.

Queenslander Anthony West became just the second Australian racer in history to conquer the milestone marker of 200 grand prix starts at Sepang in Malaysia on Sunday.

The 32-year-old, whose first grand prix appearance came as a 125cc wildcard in the 1998 Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix 15 years ago, has competed in all three categories including a stint with the factory Kawasaki MotoGP team in 2007 and 2008.

West’s lone win came at Assen in 2003 riding a privateer Aprilia in the 250GP ranks. He has seven podiums in total all in 250GP/Moto2, his most recent at the Australian Grand Prix in 2013.

Now contesting Moto2 for QMMF Racing Team, West finished a fighting 13th despite engine problems affecting his lap speed.

“I was disappointed that they re-started the race, because I had such a good start, I was 15th on the first lap,” West reflected. “I was also hoping for a difficult and long race, because I am usually strong in these kind of conditions and could have had an advantage towards the end.

“But the race got shortened and after having had problems with the engine all weekend long, I realised how slow it was in comparison to the others in the race. I felt stronger than the group I was in, but I wasn’t able to pass and get away from them, so I was stuck with them all race.

“I can’t complain about the last two races because we had a good engine with no gearbox problems. But since we changed engines for this grand prix, I am having problems again, also with these erratic gear changes from sixth to fifth, which are a malfunction that couldn’t be fixed for the race.

“But all in all, it was still good, because we made a lot of changes this weekend and we actually learned a lot. I hope we can progress throughout the next races and finally start to get our head around this bike and get it turning.

“I am looking forward to my home race at Phillip Island, which is a beautiful place with lots of greenery, with the ocean in the background and a track that is one of the last real rider’s tracks left in the world.

“I hope I can put a good show on for all the Australian people the way I did last year and I also hope I can reward my team with a good result for all the great work they’ve done!”

West will be the lone Australian on the Moto2 grid during this weekend’s Australian round of the championship at Phillip Island, currently 16th in the standings after 15 rounds.

The other Aussie to make the 200 race milestone is the great Jack Findlay, winner of three premier-class grands prix in a 20-year career through the 1960s and 1970s.