Tornado Warning: Grand Prix Of China


Thursday, May 1, 2008

Colin Edwards, a Houston native nicknamed "The Texas Tornado," will offer candid insight before every MotoGP event in 2008 about the characteristics of the upcoming circuit, his tactics and possible motorcycle setup for the weekend, the personalities and rivalries of the exciting world of MotoGP, and personal anecdotes about the region where each event takes place in "Tornado Warning."

Two-time World Superbike champion Edwards, 34, is in his sixth year of MotoGP competition, riding this season for Yamaha Tech 3. His next race is the Grand Prix of China on Sunday, May 4 at Shanghai.

The colorful Edwards will compete in the inaugural Red Bull Indianapolis GP on Sept. 12-14 at IMS along with fellow American MotoGP stars Nicky Hayden and John Hopkins, and MotoGP superstars Valentino Rossi, Casey Stoner, Dani Pedrosa and Jorge Lorenzo.

Are you pleased with the fourth-place finish in Portugal?

I don't think anybody is pleased with fourth place, honestly. As far as the team and how things have been going, it's something to build on. That's about it - something to build on. We should have been on the podium the first couple of races. At Portugal, we were going good. I don't know if it was tire choice. We were kind of going for a different theory on the rear tire. At the end of the day, we found something on the Monday after Portugal that was 10 times better than what we used in the race. So we're going to kind of go in that direction for the rest of the season, and I'm really excited about it.

Softer or firmer on the rear tire?

The compound is a little bit different, maybe a little bit different on the construction. I'm not sure. They won't tell you what they've done. You just simply put it on, and I went a frickin' second faster than my race time. I did a (1:) 38.1 during the race and a 37.1 on Monday.

Did you think, "Man, where was this tire for the race?"

Umm-hmm. I was pretty much thinking that. You hit the nail on the head there.

How much difference did the pneumatic-valve engine make in the race at Portugal?

Oh, it's a huge difference, if you ask me. Compared to what we had, it just keeps building steam. It just never seems to run out of go. It just keeps going and going. It's a hell of a lot better, if you ask me.

Even more of a difference than you expected?

I don't know. It was very subtle. It wasn't like, "Whoa, this thing is frickin' lightning-fast." It wasn't really that. It's just it never really had any dead spots. It doesn't run out of power up top. Everything is just a lot smoother. On the engine braking side, as well, it seems better.

Were the tire changes you made in testing necessary because of the different characteristics of the pneumatic-valve engine?

I think for the weekend, we went with a different tire that I probably wouldn't have gone with if I didn't have the pneumatic-valve. We went with a tire that had more acceleration grip and maybe less side grip. We were just coming up with a different theory: We didn't have to use the maximum amount of corner speed because our bike was faster. But at the end of the day, we do need that side grip. So we kind of reverted back to our normal way of thinking, and now we just have power to use if we get into any trouble.

Casey Stoner has struggled the last two races, while Honda and Yamaha have been strong. What's wrong with Ducati?

Man, I don't know. Looking from my point of view, it does not look like it's an easy bike to ride. It has lots of power. It looks forgiving, at times, if you get yourself in trouble. At the same time, I think we're all kind of lucky there's only one guy who can get it around corners. If all four of those guys could get it turned, man, we'd be in trouble. There's no question that the engine is fast. It could be a chassis issue or what they've got, I don't know. You could say Honda and Yamaha are the bikes to have, but you've got to look: We're all on Michelins, as well. Everybody else is on Bridgestones. Portugal never has been a good track for them; Jerez never has been a good track for them. So we'll have to wait and see how things pan out a bit.

How does Shanghai suit you as a rider, and how does it suit the Yamaha?

Now that we've got the engine, it will be great. I think I finished on the podium there in 2006, maybe. It's always been a track that I've done pretty good at. It's a strange track. It really is. It's kind of bizarre, that Turn 1 and then that long straight to the back into a hairpin. Whoever designed the track that has the longest straight in the world and then you know what, we'll make it a first-gear hairpin at the end of it, that's kind of dumb, if you ask me. There's not much room to make an error. We just need to for the sun to stay out. If it rains, we're in trouble. Michelin guys, we're in trouble if it rains.

There are big setup compromises with that long straight and tight turns, right?

Yeah, yeah. You need kind of an all-arounder. You can't set it up for one specific thing. You've got off-cambers (turns), a couple little positive cambers. It's a just a weird track. It's never going to be perfect the whole way around the track.

How is the trip to China? It must be one of the longest hauls of the year.

It's actually not that bad. For me, Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia is always the longest trip. It's 26 to 28 hours from Houston to KL airport; it doesn't matter how you cut it. But when you go to China, for me, you go to L.A. and then from L.A. straight to Shanghai. It's about a 20-hour total trek.

How do you stay occupied on the plane? Sleep, read, listen to tunes?

I just watch movies, man. I'm a movie guy. At the same time, I'm always trying to get on schedule beforehand. So when we take off, if it's night time where we land, I try to sleep early. Or if it's morning, I try to stay up as long as I can. I just try to get myself on schedule. Between sleep, movies and eating, that's about it. When we go to places like Jerez or Portugal, you might go through the night and only get four hours of sleep. But you've got to make up another four hours during the day somewhere. So you're always getting a little nap here, a little nap there, always trying to get some sleep.

Do you leave a day early on the long-haul trips to help adjust to the time change?

Well, you can, but the reality of it is … I think I'm on the same flight as Nicky (Hayden) and (John) Hopkins. You can, but at the end of the day, it takes you a week to adjust, to get everything normal. A lot of people say, "I go in a day early because that extra day is going to help." That's bull(crap). You're body is used to what it is. I've been in places for a week before and still never adjusted. It all depends on the timing, if you're stressed or not stressed, if you're relaxed. Just a lot of different things.


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