Donington Park MotoGP: Colin Edwards on fast pace

Colin Edwards proved again why he has such a liking for the British GP as he ended the opening day of practice with the fourth best time.

The Texan shrugged off a gearing issue this morning at Donington Park to lap consistently in the top six as he looks to extend his impressive British GP record.

Donington Park is Edwards’ best MotoGP venue having claimed four top six finishes including second place in 2004 and ’07.

The double World Superbike champion said: “I’m reasonably happy because I didn’t get in many quality laps this morning.

“I either caught traffic or the bike wasn’t quite right but this afternoon we made a change to the gearing and I felt good right away.

“This year the rev limiter is different than last year so we had to make a change to alter that.

“When you’ve come here for a few years you know what the revs are in certain corners and when to change and you don’t have to think about it.

“But I wasn’t sure if I was gong down one too many gears or going up one too less. We got the gearbox sorted and with some electronics the grip got better and better and Michelin have done a fantastic job.

“Every tyre I put in a tyre it seems to work and this will probably be the only time all year where I could use three tyres in the race on Sunday.

“Credit to Michelin because they have done an amazing job.

“This afternoon I did some more laps on a tyre that I’d already done 22 laps on and I was only two-tenths slower so we are in great shape.

“Minus the Australian I’m happy because Casey has been impressive and we’ve got to work something out to get closer.”

Edwards, who has yet to confirm his 2009 plans with talks continuing with Tech 3 Yamaha and Kawasaki, was delighted with a new Ohlins rear shock that he tried for the first time today.

He added: “The rear shock from Ohlins I really liked. It’s not often you get a new suspension piece and throw it in and it works.

“Usually you have to tinker with it and work out what springs work with it, but it feels great. It just keeps the rear planted more on the entry and it is not pitching weight to the front as hard.

“So braking is better and mid-corner it feels like there is no speed limit. You can brake harder because the rear tyre stays really consistently in the same position.”