Colin Edwards rides Tech 3 Moto2 bike

Colin Edwards stepped down from his MotoGP duties today to help the Tech 3 Racing Team evaluate its new 2011 Moto2 contender at the Valencia circuit.

The experienced American was 20th on the timesheets having completed 54 laps on the new bike that has been exclusively designed and built by the French squad.

The 36-year-old, who will partner Cal Crutchlow in next season’s MotoGP world championship, logged a best time of 1.38.70. 

That was the same time set by Tech 3 newcomer Bradley Smith and was just 0.4s behind the British rider’s team-mate Mike di Meglio.

Edwards said: “It has been a long time since I rode a 600. Maybe it was back in Daytona in 1994 but today was a lot of fun and I hope the team got a lot of useful information out of it. It was my idea to help them out and try and give them some pointers for the 2011 bike and I’m sure they appreciated a different perspective.

“Bradley is obviously new to Moto2 and Mike is coming off a difficult season, so it was worthwhile me just trying to give them some of my experience and input. All I did was work on a lot of spring rates rather go out to push for a quick lap.

“I didn’t go out to set the world on fire and I’ve ridden a MotoGP bike for so long that anything was going to feel pretty strange. But I adapted to the style within about 25 laps and the times came down and I got much smoother. It was an entertaining experience and a useful exercise for the crew.”