West to leave MotoGP for Supersports

Factory Kawasaki rider Anthony West will walk away from MotoGP next year to compete in the Supersport World Championship for Team Stiggy Motorsport Honda

The 27-year-old Australian will be replaced for 2009 by Marco Melandri and has opted to accept a berth in another series after a year-and-a-half of mixed fortunes with Kawasaki.

"I'm very happy to be joining the Stiggy team," said West, whose best finish this year so far is a fifth place at the Czech Grand Prix in Brno. "Stiggy is a friend and an old teammate from 2003 in 250ccs.

"I remember saying to him one day that he should start his own team because none of the other teams knew how to do it right, and to my surprise he did! Over the last couple of years I heard from everybody in the industry that the Stiggy team is one of the better ones in the championship.

"To have a team boss who knows what it's like to race and knows what racing is all about is just great! After a difficult year in MotoGP I need to race on a bike that can win, and in Supersport together with team Stiggy, I can."

Team owner Johan 'Stiggy' Stigefelt added: "I'm very pleased to have Anthony onboard. We both come from MotoGP and the 250cc class and know each other. I know he is a talented rider, a fighter and a winner and he will be the perfect match for us next year."