Carrera Cup Scandinavia

He made his Carrera Cup debut at the age of 51. Claimed his first podium at the age of 55. He is seventh in the championship so far this year. He is a team owner with five cars in Carrera Cup Scandinavia.
“You are insane! That is what they said to me when I was going to join Carrera Cup 2007,” said West.

West defied the doubters and headed straight in to the Carrera Cup field despite a very limited racing experience.
“They said I should start with something not so powerful. But I was 51 years old, I do not have the time. I would be dead before I reached these classes if I was supposed to go the traditional way,” said West.

After the debut in 2007, West has steadily improved his performance. He finished 15th in the championship the first year, 14th the year after that and 13th last year. After normally being seconds after the fastest in qualifying, West is just tenths after them and is regularly in top ten.
“It is for sure nice to increase the speed steadily. I have gotten a lot of routine and I am able to keep my focus up and not make any mistakes. A lot is because of our team. We have a great feeling and my co-operation with my mechanic Magnus Karlsson works great,” said West.

This year West has taken yet another step forward and is currently seventh in the championship, right behind younger rivals like Linus Ohlsson and Oscar Palm.
“It is great to be higher up in the championship, I have never fought for those results before. All of a sudden it is nice to see the results and I do want more,” said West.

The top moment came during the last Carrera Cup race at Karlskoga as West scored his first podium finish ever.
“A podium finish was my goal before the season. But it felt like an unrealistic goal in the middle of the season, but we fought on and the whole team was behind me. To finally step on to the podium was a great feeling that spread a lot of joy in the team,” said West.

At the same time as West is fighting in the top of Carrera Cup, he is running one of the biggest racing teams in Sweden. The team has got, among other things, five cars in Carrera Cup and two in the sister series GT3 Cup Challenge.
“I have a lot of customers and guests, I nearly talk my self to death during the race weekends. I talk until I close the door for the race. I think it would be good for me to get some time for my self a while before the race. But I am not really that bothered by it, I do not know of anything else,” said West.

Westlife Racing continues to aim high for Carrera Cup 2011. The team has ordered two new cars and the plan is to run a total of four cars in Carrera Cup Scandinavia next year.
“I am going to continue driving with Arne Jörgensen. We are going to divide the team and run it together. Our hope is to find two young talents and run a total of four cars. We are looking forward to another good season,” said West.

Currently the focus for West is on the two final races of 2010. The coming race is at Knutstorp in three weeks.
“My aim is to do a normal job behind the wheel and keep it all together. I must drive stable and not get overjoyed and go off track. My hope is for top six, that would make me happy,” said West.