Moto2 racer Anthony West’s positive dope test from 2012 has cost him 18 months worth of race results.
Back in early 2012, West tested positive for a stimulant (methylhexaneamine) that’s prohibited under the FIM anti-doping code. Last October, the FIM International Disciplinary Court decided that was good for a month’s ban, and the World Anti-Doping Agency asked the Court of Arbitration for Sport to instead give him a 24-month ban.
The court held a hearing in August of 2013 to re-examine the issue, and they laid out a bit of a compromise last week. West has been handed a retroactive 18-month suspension, going back to the original failed dope test in May, 2012. The Moto2 and Endurance Road Racing World Cup standings will be modified as a result, and West will lose his points. This is the court’s final decision – unless, of course, someone decides to appeal it again. In fact, part of the court’s reasoning for giving West an 18-month suspension, not a 24-month suspension, was that the process had already taken a ridiculous amount of time.
In case you’re wondering, methylhexaneamine first came on the market as a nasal decongestant, but is now available in over-the-counter medicine as a stimulant or as a weight loss aid (so says Wikipedia – read the whole entry here).
Agreed, seems like a BS offence to me. The World Anti-Doping Agency is all about handing down tough judgments for infractions like this while completely failing to prevent the major doping that goes on in many sports.
It’s a lot easier to pick on guys like Ant West than it is to take on the Lance Armstrongs of the world, with the amount of money and power behind them.
Eighteen months for that?
I have stronger shit for breakfast!
Stuff is almost a placebo.