Source: Supplied.

Australian Anthony West has addressed his provisional suspension from motorcycle racing which came after an alleged violation of the FIM Anti-Doping Code.

It was revealed ahead of Portimao’s 10th round of the Supersport World Championship that the decision to provisionally suspend West was mandatory following the receipt of a report from the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) accredited laboratory in Cologne indicating an Adverse Analytical Finding of a non-specified substance under Section 6 (stimulants) of the 2018 FIM Prohibited List.

West, who served an 18-month suspension in 2013 after a nutritional supplement he consumed contained a prohibited substance, has denied any wrongdoing in the results that surfaced late last week, confirming he’ll endeavour to prove his innocence as effectively and efficiently as possible.

“I don’t know what to say,” said West in statement. “I have two choices before me: admit to something I didn’t do, or fight the anti-doping ruling. In 2013, I was in violation after taking a nutritional supplement that I didn’t realise contained a banned substance.

“I admitted my mistake and accepted my punishment. After that situation, I stopped taking nutritional supplements for fear of failing a test. Now, I fail a test and I have no idea why. We are looking into the best, and fastest, way to proceed. I just want to get this situation resolved and get back on track. After nearly 20 years in the world championships, I have never used any substances to try and artificially improve my on track performance.”

It’s understood a urine sample collected from him at an in-competition test carried out by the FIM at the round of the 2018
FIM Supersport World Championship held in Misano, San Marino, on 8 July 2018.

Running a self-funded EAB Ant West Racing team this season, the number 13 was positioned seventh in the WorldSSP standings ahead of the weekend’s round in Portugal.