From a press release issued by Proforma: CORY WEST HAS UP AND DOWN WEEKEND IN SPANISH SERIES DEBUT AT CATALUNYA Cory West may not have finished his first Supersport race on the Team Repsol Honda CBR600F4i, but he has met the goals that the team has set for him since joining them two months ago. Cory crashed on lap ten of the sixteen lap race while closing on a group of six riders ahead after getting a poor start. The bike was damaged too badly to continue, but his team was pleased that Cory has found a set-up that has allowed him to duplicate the same laptimes that his teammates Victor Carrasco and Javier Fores turned on the same bikes last year. “I got a crummy start and dropped as low as like 27th or so (in a field of 48 starters), then I started picking guys off and moving forward,” said Cory. “I got up to 19th and was closing on this pack of six guys, closing pretty fast. I went into (turn) five, this slow left-hander, and the back end just stepped way out and I highsided, I almost had it saved.” Cory was uninjured except for some abrasions to his left hand. Cory West has experienced a bit of culture shock over the last two months, moving from Little Rock, Arkansas to Sitges, Spain, just south of Barcelona, to compete in the 2003 Spanish National Road Racing Championship, or MotoCEV Series. Cory is staying with friends of Kenny Roberts, and gets to see Kenny Senior and Junior whenever they pass through Sitges in their travels. Cory’s dad Marvin came for a visit and they were able to take in the MotoGP event at Jerez as guests of the Team KR Proton team. “It was pretty amazing,” said Cory, who also remarked that some of the wildest riding of the weekend was on the public roads. “It took us a while to get to our hotel in town. There were people everywhere doing burnouts and really long stand-up wheelies on scooters, quads, motocross bikes, everything. The cops just kind of looked the other way.” Cory is racing for Monlau Competicion under the Team Repsol Honda banner in the Supersport class, which in the MotoCEV Series has rules closer to Superbike, allowing slick tires as well as engine and chassis modifications. Cory’s next event is Round Two of the MotoCEV Series at the Jarama Circuit, June 20-22, 2003.