Yesterday, Anthony West announced that he was withdrawing from the Speed Master team due to financial issues. The Speed Master team announced today that they have reached an agreement with Mattia Pasini who will ride an Aprilia Racing Technology CRT motorcycle in the MotoGP class this year.
Pasini has raced in the 125cc, 250cc, and Moto2 categories since 2004. He's taken 11 pole positions, 26 podiums, and 10 victories.
Pasini will get his first taste of his new CRT motorcycle on January 30th during a test at Valencia.
West was scheduled to race with the Speed Master team but said that he could no longer afford to compete. West said:
"I will not race in MotoGP this year or any other race because I can not find sponsorship to pay the SPEED MASTER team. Because all teams are asking for money from the riders only the rich can race in MotoGP / Moto2 / Moto3... I had my car mx bike and my house for sale trying to keep the ride and even gave the house as a guarantee if I did not find the money but was not enough. I will most likely not race any more and will return back to Australia to find a normal job. Sorry to my fans."
