West lacks confidence but still hopes for a good race – Sucipto improves despite injury

The second day of practice for the German Grand Prix was a day of mixed emotions for QMMF Racing Team. Anthony West, who wanted to build up on recent strong results, didn't find the confidence he needed to push for an extra-fast lap in qualifying and had to settle for 16th place with a gap of seven tenths of a second to Belgian pole-setter Xavier Simeon. Throughout the rest of the afternoon, the 31-year-old Australian and his team tried to come up with improvements on the set-up of West's Speed Up prototype with the goal of installing this confidence in the race. Despite the disappointing position on the starting grid, the front runners aren't too far away in terms of lap times, so West still hopes for a turnaround on Sunday.

Team-mate Rafid Topan Sucipto was in high spirits after the qualifying practice. Despite the pain in his cracked heel, the teenager from Jakarta had managed to improve steadily throughout all practice sessions and to hone his riding skills on the challenging Sachsenring. After a weekend without any incidents so far, he hopes to continue this way, to keep learning in the race and to score a strong result.
    
Anthony West – 16th in 1.25,365
    
“We are not in a good position. We didn't find a set-up that would allow me to ride at the very limit and I just don't have the confidence to keep pushing even though I don't really know how the bike will react. I don't know exactly what went wrong and I'm a bit angry with myself because we couldn't find the key to a better solution. I still hope the race will be better. We will try some more things in warm-up tomorrow and I am usually stronger in the race anyway!”
    
Rafid Topan Sucipto – 34th in 1.28,814
    
“I am happy. I was able to ride and improve consistently and I have learned a lot despite my cracked heel, about the right lines around this track and how to get the best out of my bike. My goal is to continue this way in the race and to ride faster again without risking a crash!”
    
Team coordinator: luis.rs@racingsolutions.es