Edwards: “Mugello a Le Mans rerun”

At Mugello Colin Edwards experienced a case of déjà vu, two weeks on from his last flag-to-flag race. Once again a bad start in the wet was followed by a storming performance once he had come in to change to slick tyres but, according to the Texas Tornado, the problems lie deeper than simply the rain.

“It was a rerun of Le Mans. We’ve got some issues that we need to figure out; I’ve always been a front end guy, and I’ve got no confidence in the front –I’ve always been a good rain rider too! I just don’t have any confidence,” explained the Monster Yamaha Tech3 rider. “We’ll adjust, we’ll do some work, but as soon as we came in I just put my head down and saw the guys coming back to me. I think that I rode a pretty good race after that.”

Edwards finished sixth after a late pass on teammate James Toseland, once again pipping the Briton on the final laps. Had it have stayed dry for the entire day, the American would have been disappointed with anything outside the top handful of riders.

“We were looking like finishing top five easily in the dry, all weekend we were thereabouts on average times. We would have been a little better in a completely dry race, but that beginning is what gets me.

“As far as the weather goes, we just have to look at it like this: If it rains in Qatar, then we’re screwed for the rest of the year! It’s kind of what’s happened now, with it raining nearly every race,” he joked.