Edwards: “We’ve just got to put the pieces together”

Monster Yamaha Tech3 were back at the business end of the timesheet in Qatar, with Colin Edwards showing the form of the M1 as one of only three riders capable of a lap under 1’58. The American saved the best - his 1’57.835 lap - until last, on his seventeenth and final lap of the first MotoGP practice session.

“We’ve changed the bike up a little bit, and the engineers have done something a little bit different with the front to solve some problems,” explained Edwards after his debrief. “We’ve been having problems, especially at Jerez, with the bike bumping and acting like a speed limiter. Now we’ve moved that on a bit after trying something out.”

The ‘Texas Tornado’ added, “Jerez was a bit special, and we thought that what was needed there could be used here and work well. We’ve got all the pieces, but we’ve just got to put them together.”

Edwards qualified on the front row for last year’s Commercialbank Grand Prix of Qatar, one of his best Saturday performances of the season.