Edwards and Toseland fight hard for top ten in Sachsenring
A double top ten finish for Colin Edwards and James Toseland moved the
Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team into fourth place in the Team World Championship
standings after a hard fought German MotoGP race this afternoon.
Starting from seventh on the grid, American Edwards stayed on the fringes of
the top six until he encountered minor rear handling issues that saw him
drop down to 11th on lap eight.
Quickly adapting his style to compensate, Edwards produced an impressive
performance in the second half of the race as he closed down on the battle
between Nicky Hayden and Marco Melandri for seventh position.
But having reduced the gap to less than 1.5s, Edwards had to settle for
ninth to finish just two seconds off a fourth top six of the season.
British rider James Toseland was just one place further back in 10th place.
Racing with a new Yamaha YZR-M1 anti-wheelie system for the first time,
Toseland made a good start from the fifth row of the grid but found himself
boxed in at the Sachsenring's tight first corner.
Having overcome a small front tyre grip issue in the early stages of a
30-lap race, run in bright and sunny conditions, Toseland threatened to
challenge for a top six as he pursued the group including Edwards, Hayden,
Melandri and Toni Elias. Toseland eventually settled into a consistent pace
and easily pulled away from Loris Capirossi and Mika Kallio to claim his
fifth top ten finish of the season.
The result ensured the 28-year-old gave himself a big confidence boost ahead
of his home race at Donington Park next weekend.
Colin Edwards 9th -- 83 points
"It was a weird race and I had a similar problem to the last few races. It
feels like I've got a load of weight on the rear pushing me into the
corners. I can't get the bike to turn and today was pretty much the same.
The first few laps were a bit of nightmare because I was losing the front a
lot. I was going backwards and at one point dropped out of the top ten, but
when I thought it was going to be a long afternoon, a strange thing
happened. As the rear grip started to drop, I actually got faster and the
bike starting turning. With less grip on the rear I could turn the bike and
it would help keep the front from just running straight on. So I just got my
head down and recovered some positions but I ran out of laps when I getting
closer to Nicky (Hayden) and Marco (Melandri). Now we go to Donington, which
is a place that I love. I've had some success there in MotoGP and I'll be
looking to get closer to the front for all my guys at Monster Yamaha Tech 3,
who have worked hard again all weekend."
James Toseland 10th -- 45 points
"I got a decent start and I was pleased with that after what happened at
Laguna Seca and the anti-wheelie system from Yamaha has made a massive
difference. But I got boxed in at the first corner. I'm not sure who it was
but I had contact on my right and left knee. I didn't roll off and got
through but at the start of the race I had a few issues with the front tyre.
We're not sure if it was the temperature or the full fuel load but at the
start I didn't have much confidence. After about half distance it really
started working well and I could run a really consistent pace. With the
mixed conditions all weekend, I'd not had chance to run the hard rear tyre,
but I really thought it would come strong in the last ten laps and help me
chase the bunch I was on the back for a while that were battling for
seventh. But the hard tyre wasn't really an advantage for the last few laps
and there was no difference in performance against the guys on the soft rear
tyre. I'm satisfied with another top ten though and I'm now looking forward
to my home race now at Donington Park. Another top ten has given me a bit of
a boost. I'll be looking to make amends for the disappointment of last year
at the British GP and giving it my all for my home crowd."
Herve Poncharal -- Team Manager
"We expected a lot better because this is a track that we know Yamaha is
very strong at, but Colin and James rode to their maximum again. It has been
a hard weekend with the track conditions changing so much and both of them
finishing in the top ten is not a bad result. Through their hard work we are
back in fourth place in the Team World Championship and Colin has
consolidated his fifth place in the rider standings, which is a great reward
for his consistency. James also had a very solid race and this has given
some good confidence ready for his home race at Donington Park next week
where he keen to perform for his home fans. Congratulations again to Yamaha
with another very impressive performance from Valentino and Jorge. They are
showing that Yamaha really is the best brand in MotoGP."
-credit: tech 3
