West apologises for outbursts against FIM

Ant West has issued an apology for his outbursts against the FIM and other riders as he prepares to race again when his drug ban expires in March.

West was provisionally suspended in September 2018 after failing a drug test earlier that year, during which he was competing in the Supersport World Championship.

The ‘period of ineligibility’ was ultimately set to end on September 14 this year but was extended to March 14, 2021 after the Australian contested a number of rounds of SuperBike Brasil in 2019.

West had argued that he should have been allowed to do so given the series did not fall under FIM sanction, but the FIM International Disciplinary Court still found him to have breached its Anti-Doping Code.

It was when he had been notified of the possibility of the extension of his suspension, in January of this year, that the Moto2 race winner made a fiery social media post accusing the governing body of corruption and Marc Marquez of cheating.

West has taken to social media once again, this time to express his remorse for such comments.

“I am making this video public to apologise for my past conduct in respect to the FIM, which I acknowledge was unacceptable, degrading and hostile at the time,” he said in a video post.

“My previous social media statements regarding the FIM were offensive; spread malicious, false rumours; and were unfortunately published as a result of my state of mind at the time the statements were made.

“Having had time to reflect on my comments and the events that led to the verbal outbursts against the FIM, and several of my fellow riders, I would just like to once again apologise to all that were involved.

“It was never my intention to hurt anyone. I am a motorcycle racer foremost and have been racing all my life, and sometimes I wear my heart on my sleeve.

“I’d like to say thank you to the FIM for working with me to obtain my licence back. Without their help and understanding, I would not be looking forward to riding again.

“On that note, I’d like to say I’m hungrier than ever to sit back on a motorcycle again, and get back out there, watch some racing, do some racing myself, and enjoy the sport again.

“Hopefully we can get back to Superbike or World Supersport again, and even Asian championship where I was winning races, and I just can’t wait to have that feeling again.

“I’ve missed it a lot. It’s something I can’t get away from and I’ll be back doing it again in the future.”