Australian unlikely to return for final two rounds either.
Queensland veteran Anthony West will miss this weekend’s Superbike World Championship (WorldSBK) round at Magny-Cours in France, instead contesting the penultimate round of the Asia Road Racing Championship (ARRC).
West will continue with his Akeno Speed WJR Racing Yamaha team in the ARRC, which he had committed to prior to impressing in a number of WorldSBK fill-in rides with the Italian Pedercini Kawasaki squad.
However West has also revealed that it’s unlikely he will complete the world championship season with Pedercini Kawasaki aboard the ZX-10R, as a lack of sponsorship will almost certainly sideline him for Jerez and Qatar.
“Just so you all know, don’t expect to see me at the next WSBK race in France,” West announced. “I have to stay committed to racing in Asia Road Racing because there they pay me to ride. If I have a big sponsor I could ride it.
“I hope to race Jerez and Qatar WSBK, but it’s looking unlikely – without some big sponsorship, I can’t race world championship. That’s why you always see me doing the smaller championships to make some cash to make it to the next world race. Next weekend I’ll be racing in India racing ARRC.”
West had been with the Pedercini Kawasaki team since Sepang’s sixth round of the WorldSBK season in Malaysia, scoring a strong haul of points in nine consecutive races before crashing out of race two in Germany. His highest finish came with a fifth in race two at Sepang on debut.