Colin Edwards stunned by Bridgestone endurance

Texan Colin Edwards has admitted he has been stunned by the endurance of Bridgestone tyres as he prepares to wrap up 2009 winter testing in Jerez this weekend.

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The Monster Tech 3 Yamaha rider completed his first full race simulation on the new 2009 YZR-M1 in Qatar earlier this month.

And it was the endurance of the Bridgestone tyres that impressed Edwards so much as he continued a successful switch to the Japanese rubber after a career spent with Michelin.

“In Qatar it was weird and something that I’m not accustomed to, but the tyres were actually getting better the more laps I did on them. It was screwing with my head and I came in and said, ‘how is that possible?’

“There was obviously some drop in performance, but strangely it comes back and gets better. It is freaking me out because I’ve never experienced it.

“I was really worried about our tyres lasting the distance because our tyres hadn’t been looking that fantastic, and I end up going faster the more wear I had on them. I was dumbfounded.

“The grip just gets more consistent so you can just focus on the riding. Instead of the bike being all twitchy or some inconsistency corner to corner, it just got real consistent.

“You’re not worrying about anything with the tyre and it is unbelievable. About 11 laps into the race simulation and it started getting better, kept getting better to about lap 14 and I could have probably done ten more laps and it would have felt the same.”

Edwards and his Tech 3 Yamaha team-mate James Toseland finish winter testing for MotoGP in Jerez this weekend. The test runs on Saturday and Sunday, and MCN will be there to bring you full coverage.