Edwards and Toseland happy with Tech 3 Yamaha Mugello performance.

A fifth place battle between teammates saw Colin Edwards just hold off James Toseland at the American rider´s bogey track, with the sterling performances taking the Tech 3 Yamaha outfit up to third in the standings.

Colin Edwards– Fifth

`I didn't get a great start but it wasn´t that bad but before I knew it I'd lost a couple of places. I didn´t have the grip in the first two laps that some of the other guys did, so I couldn´t stay with them off the corner. Once my tyres started to come in I really started to feel good, but I had to adjust my riding style with the temperature being so much higher than yesterday. The rear was coming round a bit on the entry of the corner and I started braking a lot harder, carrying less corner speed to try and conserve the tyre by picking the bike up and accelerating. It worked and I´ve got to say I'm happy with fifth. I´m happier with fifth here than I was with third in Le Mans to be honest. I expected to win at Le Mans, but my best result here has been a ninth. I´m not a guy that likes fifth, but on my biggest bogey track ever I´ll take it. We just had to run a tyre that we thought would have good endurance because in a situation where there´s hardly been any dry track time, you have to play safe. Nobody had done any endurance testing on tyres and I think the tyre I raced on I´d done about two laps on before the race! I have to say a big thanks to Michelin because they did a great job. We had no idea what the tyre would be like after 20 laps but to come from where I did showed we made a good choice. Tyre choice is critical at any track but here even more so because it is such an abrasive surface. It will destroy tyres if you are just a little bit off, so credit to Michelin. I had a good battle with James and its great to see him back in the top six. There were a couple of places like the two Arrabbiata corners where he could pull away. I felt like I could control him if I could pass him, and the key was getting by and being able to pull a gap so he couldn´t slipstream back by me. It is another great result for the team today. I'm sure if you had said to Herve that our team would be third in the team points after six races he would have taken it.´

James Toseland – Sixth

` That was a really hard race and I´ve got to say a massive thanks to my guys at Tech 3 because we found a set-up this morning alter losing so much time with the weather and it got me in the top six. Considering the lack of dry time track time my Michelin tyres held up fantastically well too, so a big thanks to them as well. I couldn't have done anymore. I was really close to Shinya Nakano in the first corner and that picked me up and I lost quite a few places. I kept my calm because I knew it was a long race and I didn't want to make the same mistake as I did in Le Mans. I just had to settle down and I didn't do anything stupid. It´s nice to follow Colin home on the same package. Colin did a great job as well. I passed him early on but he found his pace. I held him towards the end but he just found those extra few tenths a lap and that was enough for him to pass me. You can tell he has got a lot of experience on these bikes and his bike doesn´t move so much. I feel like I´m wrestling mine a bit too much but I´m still learning. With the setting I had the bike wasn´t so stable on the faster corners but my bike is one of the best out there and thanks to Yamaha. I rode hard in that race and if I was riding this hard and finishing fourteenth my morale would be seriously dented.´