MotoGP: Edwards Donington Form
US Rider's Podium Finish a Return to Form for the Texas Tornado
American Colin Edwards returned to the podium in the wet British Grand Prix and only a brilliant ride by Ducati's new superstar denied the American his first MotoGP win.
Despite coming close to his maiden MotoGP victory Edwards was all smiles after the race. This is Edwards’s best effort by far for the season. The American WSBK veteran achieved the most important thing in motor racing short of a win; he beat his teammate, the legendary Valentino Rossi.
Before the race Edwards lamented his poor recent form and lack of success, "I had a lot bigger aspirations for this season than my recent results have shown," concedes Edwards. "After our first few tests and first few races I thought we would be consistently in the top five, but unfortunately that hasn't been the case recently.
After the race, the veteran Texan had a grin as wide as home state.
"We had good race! I had a great start, better than any of my practice ones during the weekend, and then I just got my head down and kept pushing lap after lap,” said Edwards.
“My bike was feeling good in the wet but then it started to dry out. I started braking a bit harder and feeling more confident, but then the front locked once into the chicane which gave me a bit of a scare. ”
Despite being beaten, the improvement over recent races has encouraged the Texas Tornado and he has a good record at the next track, Assen in Holland.
“We did the best we could today and it feels good to be back on the podium, so a big thanks to all my guys. We've made a lot of progress this weekend and now we'll carry the momentum on to Assen next week,” said Edwards.
Reigning World Champion, Kentucky’s Nicky Hayden, returned to somewhere near his championship winning form at Donington. Hayden’s best qualifying performance of the season so far, fourth place, saw him start on the second row of the grid, right behind pole man, Edwards.
“The bike felt really good early in the race and I was trying to be a little bit patient when a few guys came past and I started going back and forth. It felt like I could go quicker,’ said Hayden.
“I felt like I could go towards the front and I was enjoying the race. Then I just got in a little bit hot at the top of the hill and lost the front. I'd been passed there earlier once or twice and just didn't want to go back any further.”
“It sucks to crash out of the race but it wasn't as if I crashed while going backwards and struggling – at least I was up front,” said Hayden.
Another American with an encouraging effort was Suzuki’s John Hopkins with a fifth place finish.
I got a decent start to the race and had a couple of battles early on with other riders. As the rain stopped falling it created a dry line which was difficult for me because although most riders take that line it’s not the one that I always take,” said Hopkins.
Hopkins' team were pleased with the effort in the difficult conditions as the result completed the podium position of his teammate Chris Vermeulen.
“John also performed really well today, especially in the full wet conditions at the start when it looked like he could have passed anyone on the brakes at any point on the circuit,” said Paul Denning, Rizla-Suzuki Team Manager.
“I hope it will be dry at Assen next weekend as that is a place I really enjoy and I want to get a good result there so I can climb up that championship table,” said Hopkins.
 |
 |
 |
 |
