Image: Russell Colvin.

Pre-race favourite Anthony West’s charge at Phillip Island was over before it really even began at the World Supersport Championship (WorldSSP) opening round on Sunday, forced out of the race in the first lap with a disastrous mechanical.

In a huge upset from the front row of the grid, the 36-year-old Queenslander’s EAB West Racing Kawasaki ZX-6R came to a halt due to the effects of a clutch problem off the line and it was his day done in Victoria.

“It’s been such a good weekend with the new team and I thought all of the stress was going away with the results we were getting and the position we were on the grid,” West told CycleOnline.com.au. “It was almost like it was too perfect and it was… I had a great start, went into turn one second and as soon as I opened the throttle it slipped the clutch really bad. It’s just one of those things – things break sometimes and it wasn’t anybody’s fault.

“I rolled all the way into two, tried to adjust it, but unfortunately the clutch was burned out really bad. It fell apart and I think it threw some pieces into the oil, so I think that clogged the pick-up, starved the engine a little bit and we did the big-end. The engine’s destroyed, but hopefully there are some parts we can salvage. It means one sticker’s gone for our allocation this year. One thing is the money, but the result sucks and losing a sticker to try do the whole season is not a good way to start.”

West has been a force to be reckoned with in WorldSSP at Phillip Island on under-performing equipment in recent seasons, claiming podium results in 2016 and 2017. This year, after displaying a consistently-strong pace through practice and qualifying, he was denied the opportunity to challenge for victory. Still, he’s certain he can carry the form into upcoming rounds.

“It’s a package that we can be competitive on and I think we will go to the other tracks and be just as strong as at Phillip Island,” he added. “In the past I have struggled in practice and qualifying here, but in the race the slip-stream helps so much that you can sort of get pulled along and make it happen. This week though, we have been on pace even when completely alone because the bike’s powerful enough, it handles well and I think we can be good in Thailand and Europe.”

There will be little time for West to reflect on his misfortunes however, scheduled to ride a Yamaha in this weekend’s opening round of the Asia Road Racing Championship (ARRC) at Chang International Circuit in Thailand. Round two of WorldSSP is also in Buriram, to be hosted between 23-25 March.