Question: I see where you qualified rather well today. Is that just happenstance or is maybe your teammate having some problems? Colin Edwards: I just got lucky (laughter) – no, it went good today. We obviously found something really good the day after Jerez. We kind of got caught out with Michelin and developments and stuff from them over the testing. We went to Jerez and it wasn’t that great but yeah, we figured it out and it’s going good now. Question: With teammates as competitive as they can be, do you share information with Rossi, does your information help him if you find a little to make you faster or are you going to keep it for yourself? Colin Edwards: Well I mean we are a team, so all of the information that comes in my way or his way is, we can look at whatever we want, whatever data we have got. And I think as far as even with the Tech 3 Team and Ruben, at Yamaha we kind of share all the information. We just happened to get the balance right, and once you get the balance right then the bike will work and that’s the basically what we did. Question: I am going to ask Valentino the same question but I want to get your perspective on it. A lot of European riders don’t like Laguna because it’s so tight compared to some of the other tracks, and it has got two real fast downhill turns. Do you think that situation favors the Yamaha or do you think it’s all a matter of setup? Colin Edwards: Well, I can’t wait to get to Laguna personally, because I think the Yamaha is going to work really good there. It’s not a real horsepower track. It would be interesting, I mean the last bike that I rode there was a Superbike and to get a Grand Prix bike there, yes it’s definitely going to be difficult in areas, it’s going to make for a challenge to the get the bike setup. The Yamaha will work good there, you just trust me on that. Question: I just want to know, the way you feel coming back to California and coming back to this track that you know very well with a new bike, with a Yamaha? Colin Edwards: Yeah, as I said before my opinion is that Laguna is the Hollywood of motorcycling. I mean it’s in California first off, and it has got really good people, good food, good atmosphere, the place is unbelievable. Racing belongs here, especially Moto Grand Prix racing. It’s been missed for long enough and I think Yamaha put a big effort to get us back over there in the series. I am excited about this and I couldn’t be more excited, it’s great. I’ve been there on Superbike and it was always fun to have it on schedule but this is a big event coming back after so many years. Question: Do you feel coming back for GP is any more special than racing here in World Superbike? Colin Edwards: Any more special? Any race at Laguna is special for me, even when I rode 250’s back in ’92 it was always a fun event. So I think Laguna is Laguna, it doesn’t really matter what event you go to. The atmosphere and the people, like I said… I haven’t raced a Grand Prix there so I can’t really answer that question until it happens but I am sure its going to be, with all the media and all the press and everything that is going into it it’s going to be bigger and better than its ever been. Question: Can you describe what it’s been like, I know it’s early in the season, but to have a teammate who is as a personality and a persona that is so dynamic as Valentino, the two of you are both very strong personalities. How has it been having him as a teammate? Colin Edwards: It’s been great, we started out I guess as teammates or a friendship or whatever you want to call back in 2000 when we did the Suzuka 8 Hour together. And then 2001 again, we just kind of carried on that friendship, I think as far as being teammates I couldn’t think of anybody else in the paddock I’d rather be teammates with. I mean we get along great; you have got a multi-World Champion developing the bike with you. So how could it be bad, that’s the question. We get along great, and I enjoy it. It’s probably the only time in my career when I walked out the garage in the back and I hear everybody go “ahhh” (disappointed). You know it’s pretty funny, and every day there’s always a different event happening and occurring, but that’s what makes it fun. Question: I know the American drivers are obviously excited to come in to this event, what sort of reaction do you think we can expect from the rest of the MotoGP riders that have never seen the place, that have never been there? Is it an intimidating race track for a first timer? Colin Edwards: Well partly, you know as well as I do you have your guys who go with the flow, and your guys that go against the grain. So I think there will be some guys who will moan and there will be some guys who love it. And I think we’re just going to have to wait and see what happens. But obviously you know the safety commission are four guys that look at the track – Kenny Roberts is one, Valentino (Rossi) and Sete (Gibernau) and so they all know what we are in for. It’s going to be a good event and you know as well as I do that it’s impossible to make everybody happy. But I think at the end of the week and everybody is going to walk away with a big smile on their face. Question: What is – I mean as far as going there for the first time, will it be difficult for a lot of those guys or will they adjust pretty quick? Colin Edwards: Yeah it will be difficult, I’m not going to lie to you – the track has the corkscrew in turn six up the hills, a little jump down the back straight and turn one. I mean it has its own, it has a few lines in there that take experience; you don’t just learn them overnight. So I think that will be difficult for a couple of the guys. I think the guys who have ridden the track in the past I would say definitely have somewhat of an advantage for sure. Question: You partially answered my question already, but coming in here you being experienced here and a couple of the other guys, the Americans, of course, that have ridden on the track and guys with World Superbike experience got an idea what to expect. Do you think that gives you a pretty strong leg up or all of these guys in the GP field experiencing enough that very quickly they will be able to adapt? Colin Edwards: I don’t know, I think a good baseline is you could look at Qatar last year, obviously look at China here in couple of week’s time to see what happens. You have your guys who develop pretty quick and get a track sorted pretty fast and then you have guy who might need one, two, three years of experience to learn where all the bumps are. Riders are different in every aspect in that situation. I do believe that the riders who have been there will have an advantage. I mean there are a couple of bumps, a couple of secret lines that you only know about from riding around there. So I can say 100 percent that probably the first day you will have four Americans on the top, that’s the way I am looking at it at the moment. Question: Some folks have described this as a very technical track and if you feel that’s true and the Americans with some of their tech background do you think that’s going to give them a hand-up on this? Colin Edwards: Yeah, I will back that up as far as being very technical, the track itself. As I mentioned it’s not real horsepower track, it doesn’t really matter and we can go there on whatever bikes we’ve got here in Grand Prix – Any bike we got on the grid up there is going to have too much power for the track, so there is no issue with power. It is just a matter of getting the setting on the bike right, you get the suspension right and get the balance working and you never know who will be up top there. Question: Just one more quick one if I may with your experience with actually a couple of different bikes out here have you or are you going to be able to draw on that for your baseline set up or is that all out the window because of the difference of the bike. Colin Edwards: Yeah, I think that’s pretty much out the window. The last bike I was on was a Superbike around there so you have lot less weight, a lot more power, and tires, profiles, constructions…everything is all different now. What we used to do from track to track, now we just have to go there fresh basically and start from scratch, but I think in the Yamaha pit we’ve got a pretty good base line setting I think that will work pretty good just about anywhere at the moment. Question: I am wondering whether being back in U.S. is going to give you a boost of confidence and you think you’ll do better here? Colin Edwards: I think for the last couple of years, anyway, my home race has been Phillip Island and that’s where I’ve had most of my family come, all my dad’s side of the family anyway. So it’s always good to have a home race and myself I always perform a bit better under pressure. I think everybody does when it’s their home race. I am excited, I am definitely excited. I got half of Texas coming so you all get ready. Question: Could describe in your words that the level of competition in MotoGP compared to other races you have done? Colin Edwards: It’s phenomenal. I mean in my own words, the level of competition is like nothing I have ever thought it was coming from whenever I was in Superbike. Whenever I was in Superbike I would look at these guys on TV and say man, why isn’t he going, or why is Valentino winning every race – that was the big question. Now being over here, when you put it on paper that you have eight, nine, ten world champions on the grid and lots of people that are accustomed to winning lots of races in their past, the level is unbelievable. It doesn’t get any higher. It’s like having ten Tiger Woods going up to the local golf course and trying to kill one another. Its pretty serious, guys are ready to win all of them, not that it happens every weekend but that’s what we are all here to do. Question: Why do they call you the “Texas Tornado”? Colin Edwards: I don’t know – I was hoping maybe you could tell me that. No, I don’t know, it started I think it might have been an old Cycle News issue that came out whenever I was young and then it just kind of stuck from there. Question: Laguna has a reputation, I believe, of being as slightly less abrasive track surface. I don’t want to say more slippery but you know what I mean. How do you think that compares to other tracks that you are racing on? Colin Edwards: Well, it’s no picnic here today to be honest with you. The one thing about Laguna is usually that time of the year we get some pretty good weather and I think a lot of it doesn’t really matter how abrasive it is, as long as we can get temperature. As long as we can get temperature then we can get the tires to work. And we deal with all kinds of services throughout the year, you look at Qatar, which is smooth as a babies you-know-what, and then you have got tracks like (Estoril) with a bit more force so that is not really an issue. It’s temperature. As long as we get the right temperature, which at Laguna we will. It’s always right there, so I think we won’t have a problem with it. Question: Colin Edwards, you are used to going to race tracks and learning the track real quick and moving on Laguna stands out for reasons you have already described and will you bring some of the nationalistic fervor, to put it one way, to say that “this is my place and you guys got to beat me when you are in my land?” Colin Edwards: Hell yeah. Why wouldn’t I think that way? Definitely, it’s like I said, everybody I know is coming to the race and I want to win, that’s the only thing I am thinking of. So yes, if anybody else wants to win they have to beat me on my turf. For sure, that’s how you think always when you go to Laguna, or a home race. Question: When you get focused on the race itself, do you feel or see or experience the crowd that might be cheering for you when you are out there in the middle of the race? Colin Edwards: It’s a bit different on a motorcycle doing 200 miles an hour, you can’t really focus on much, to be honest with you. I can’t ever remember honestly focusing on the crowd of any sort except maybe Brands Hatch’s stadium atmosphere, you could half-way hear them. But it’s pretty much thinking the next corner or two corners in front of you, you are not really thinking about much. And especially these days these group of guys I’m racing with. You can’t really think about too much except what you are doing. Question: Finally you mentioned earlier about the crowd reaction when they see your Yamaha suit come out and they maybe expressed disappointment. You are a star and on a number of levels, what does it do to you when you have to share some of that spotlight like with maybe one of the biggest starts ever in the motorcycling? Colin Edwards: Well, like I said, I have been doing it for a long time and it is great, honestly because I walk out the garage now and I can actually go to the motorhome. I don’t have to fight and claw my way and run out the backdoor. I just cruise right out the front door wave to people and they just say “all right”, so it’s all good. So there is good and bad to everything but I don’t have a problem with it. Let all the pressure be on him (Rossi) and I go out there and fight and do what I can do. Question: A few minutes ago in a question you made the comment that when you were looking at MotoGP from the outside, you asked yourself the question “why does Valentino win every weekend?” Have you come any closer to being able to answer that question? Colin Edwards: I can kind of answer it the best way that I can, the guy is phenomenal. I have seen the way he works, I know how he works, I know his attitude. The biggest thing is his attitude, there is not one inclination of maybe I might get a beat this week, he doesn’t think that in anyway shape or form. Secondly, to beat him is going to take 27 or 28 perfect laps and then is that enough? I don’t even know if that’s enough. The guy just has a will and a determination that I’ve never seen, never experienced. That’s what’s got him to where he is. That and a lot of talent of course. Question: First of all, just talk about all the electronic aid you have on the bike and how you feel about them, as opposed to the Superbike which is pretty much just you and the motorcycle? Colin Edwards: My Superbike wasn’t really friendly to be honest, I mean it was a 180 horsepower or whatever, but you control it all with your right wrist. I rode the Aprilia one to one and try to control everything with my right wrist for about 10 minutes and I came back in and said give me the electronics. Out there it was only about 215 horse. So these things at 230, 240 or whatever they are putting out, I think without the electronics we would be up a creek without a paddle. I mean it’s essential. At the moment it’s essential and honestly you are as good as your programmer to a certain extent, because your programmer has a lots of influence from… man, we could sit here and talk about this for hours. But it is a vital and important part of set-up at the moment, suspension and everything, a lot of the electronics are involved in it as far as weight transfers, spin control, anti-wheelie control, the whole nine-yards effects the set up. Question: I was just down in Texas at Oak Hill Raceway and want to let you know that your lap record is still up on the shed wall there. But our question being, when is some rich Texas oil guy going to build a proper race track down in Texas so that the AMA and maybe MotoGP can go race down there. Colin Edwards: I think the last big team… actually, I know it was the Ducati Superbike team was in Texas World in the middle of August. Why, I have no idea, but let’s wait and see. You need some big oil tycoon with lots of money, that’s what we need. Question: Everyone seems to have an opinion on last week’s race with the last corner there. You have obviously seen television replays, what was your opinion on that. Do you think Valentino did the right thing there or do you think he was in the wrong? Colin Edwards: I knew somebody was going to ask this question, it had to be you. Personally if I was Valentino, I would have done exactly the same thing. I’m a motocrosser so that that’s fine with me. Rubbin’ is racing you know. Some people might say it was maybe just over the line but honestly when you are racing we are aggressive anyway, and we put some passes on one another and we’re back in the field that some people don’t even see that are the same all race long. So on the last lap, last corner you can’t expect anything less. I mean he’s got to go for it at that particular moment. It’s not hanging my neck out and take a little risk, its do or die. I mean that’s the way you think the last corner so, why not? I don’t really see a problem with it. Question: I wonder maybe if you could possibly paint the picture of the atmosphere and what a MotoGP race is to maybe people that haven’t been able to experience one just from your end? Colin Edwards: That’s a good question, imagine going to the Super Bowl 17 times a year. That’s pretty much what we’ve got going on. We’ve got different countries and we are just bringing the Super Bowl with us. Its crazy and you have your die-hards that might travel along, your fans that might come see two or three races a year but for the most part it’s the local people. All the people from that country that come from everywhere in the country, they come to see the Grand Prix and it’s crazy, I mean it’s phenomenal. These guys they’ve got V8 engines out in the back of a truck with megaphones hanging off the back, just to make a noise, that’s all they do is make noise. And they will keep that going until 5 in the morning so it’s – it is some weird stuff but it’s all part of the atmosphere here like you’re saying, it’s crazy. Question: It also seems a lot of them seem to be very knowledgeable about the sport. Colin Edwards: Oh, totally, and that’s the weirdest thing is in the States, I mean nobody is really knowledgeable about the sport. Valentino, some people might know and other than that you probably couldn’t find anyone that knows anybody else. You ask eight or nine-year-old little girl in Spain who any of the Grand Prix riders are and they’ll tell you. It’s just strange, it’s really weird. I can compare it to maybe football in the U.S., maybe NASCAR to an extent but bigger than that even. Question: I was just wondering if you could talk maybe about some of the differences that you dealt with transitioning from the Honda this year to the Yamaha? Colin Edwards: Well, I had fun riding a motorcycle again. That in itself is a big transition. I struggled a lot last year, I had that machine chatter just about every where I went. Got on the Yamaha and I felt instantly comfortable. Yamaha, you just got to be really smooth, with corner speed. And I get along with it, my riding style seems to suit the Yamaha definitely a lot better than Honda. Question: Are there any particular aspects about the bike that makes it that way for you? Colin Edwards: Particular aspects… it turns. That’s the one aspect, it actually turns and it likes being on its side. The Honda never really liked to be on its side for too long, it’s point and shoot with the Honda and this thing is more smooth and more corner speed. Question: I have a question relating to that the last answer regarding the way the Honda turns and the way the Yamaha turns for you. Do you think it is possibly in the engineering or the structure of the frame as far as one being maybe little stiffer than the other, having more flexibility than the other? Colin Edwards: Well again we could go on for hours about this. It goes from everything, engine configuration to engine weight to the center of gravity to wheel base to offset… maybe just we call rigidity? Okay, what tire construction? It goes on and on and on and then you add it all up together and you will have a bike that works or one that doesn’t and you have to find the pieces and put the pieces in the right place. It’s my opinion that’s where Yamaha has done a really good job. All the pieces seem to be fitting really good and the bike works really good. Question: How much of that is Valentino’s input with respect to development last year. It seems that he really was able to bring the bike along and refine it from where it was the previous year? Colin Edwards: It’s easy to sit here and say it’s Valentino or whoever it is. I think you have to look at the big picture, you have to look at some of the Japanese that came into power, just before Valentino came over to the team. You have to look at the engine configuration, the firing order that they decided to do. Valentino is definitely a key aspect in that and so was his crew chief. A rider cannot sit there and tell you, if you need this thickness in the chassis and you need this thickness in the swing arm and he needs this and so on. Basically bring your pieces and you test it and say that’s better, that’s worse. And where the genius part comes is the guys behind the scene that are bringing you the good pieces. When they bring you the good pieces it’s easy to pick them out. If they don’t bring you the good stuff then everything is crap and obviously everything is not crap.
