Edwards and Toseland close in on frontrunners in qualifying

Saturday, 16 May 2009

Monster Yamaha Tech 3 duo qualify sixth and twelfth for Grand Prix de France.

Their grid positions were perhaps not entirely in keeping with their expectations, but Colin Edwards and James Toseland were both encouraged by their consistent pace throughout practice and qualifying in Le Mans on Saturday.

Colin Edwards -6th

“I'm happy on one side because my race pace is really consistent and I'm as quick as the guys in front of me, so I expect to be challenging at the front in the race tomorrow. But part of me is a little bit disappointed that I wasn't higher up the grid having been close to the top pretty much throughout. I had a couple of small issues and I feel there was more time out there. Basically I can only use the hard front tyre. I can't get the soft one to work, but we have to keep two of the four hard compound tyres for the race. So by the end of the session the front I like is past its best with a lot of laps on it. When you put in the softer rear tyre to make a lap time at the end of the session, the best grip on the hard front has gone and it starts moving because you're pushing it too hard. Having said that, to be within three tenths of the fast guys I'm not complaining too much. And when we start the race tomorrow with the grip of the front and rear at the same level, we're not going to have a problem. I got a podium last year for Tech 3 in its home race, so I'm definitely looking for a repeat of that.”

James Toseland -12th

“I felt much happier today and the team gave me a great bike. I'm sorry to my guys really for not being a bit further up the grid, but we're so close to being on the edge of the top six and I feel I'm making the progress I've been looking for. This morning it was too cold for the hard front tyre, so we didn't really run it, but with ten degrees more temperature this afternoon, it was much stronger and I felt much more comfortable and that helped me a lot. With the softer rear tyre, which I'm sure will be the race choice that should be a good combination. Sadly the final position is not great again and that is something that has hampered me this season. I'm not far off the group in front at all but starting further down makes it tough to pick them off when we're all doing similar lap times. I really feel though that I'm getting close and today I started to enjoy riding and not thinking about always struggling. That was a good feeling and I know how important this race is for the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team and I'll be giving it 100 per cent as always.”