The Texan Colin Edwards is certainly the teammate that Valentino appreciated the most, the one with whom he spent his best moments. Their collaboration began with a victory at the Suzuka 8H in 2001, when they won on a Honda VTR1000SPW.
The Texan was then a regular on the podium in this race, having already triumphed with Noriyuki Haga on a Yamaha YZF750 in 1996, before winning later in 2002 with Daijiro Kato on a Honda VTR1000SPW. Texas Tornado raced from 1995 to 2002 in the World Superbike Championship, winning two titles on a Honda in 2000 and 2002. He then moved to MotoGP, first on an Aprilia RS Cube in 2003, then on a Honda from the team Fausto Gresini the following year.
He then became Rossi's teammate for three years at Yamaha, finishing fourth in the Championship in 2005. He continued at Tech 3, before his final seasons on Suter, FTR-Kawasaki and Forward Yamaha. “ I spent three wonderful seasons alongside Rossi, remembers Colin. He won a lot of races and I think I did my best, taking full advantage of my skills. Victory? I missed it by a hair and, considering who my rivals were, Valentino and Biaggi, I can say I have no regrets. »
Does Colin think his former teammate Rossi can still stay at the top? “ I retired at 40. I was physically fit, but it was mentally difficult. For Rossi...well, he doesn't have a wife, he doesn't have kids...You know what I mean (laugh). In short, Valentino only has the race as his concern and I am convinced that he will still achieve very good results. He will fight for victory."
If Colin was a good teammate of Rossi, he never threatened him in terms of results. According to the Texan, will it be the same with Maverick Vinales? “ Viñales is a great talent. From the first tests in Valencia, he immediately showed that he was fast with the Yamaha M1 and he repeated this performance in Malaysia. Viñales has excellent driving skills, he is fast and hungry. We will see at what level he will be. »
Edwards is still involved in motorcycling with his training camp: “ Motorcycling is my life. I like to ride and open the throttle, even though now I'm retired. Maybe in the future I can start my own team and launch young careers. In the meantime, I will follow my son. If he wants to ride a motorcycle, he can do it. If he wants to play baseball, I'll be by his side. »
Photos: Yamaha and Honda
Source: gpone.com
