British MotoGP: Heroic Colin Edwards claims podium

American Colin Edwards secured his first MotoGP podium finish in nearly two years with a heroic ride to third place in a rain-lashed British Grand Prix at Silverstone.

The Monster Yamaha Tech 3 rider only broke his collarbone nine days prior to yesterday’s 20-lap race, but he produced a stunning ride through the pain barrier to take full advantage of mistakes by Jorge Lorenzo and Marco Simoncelli.

He mastered treacherous conditions as heavy rain fell throughout the race to register his 12th MotoGP podium and fourth in the British Grand Prix having previously claimed three rostrums at Donington Park.

The 37-year-old, who had a titanium plate and 13 screws inserted in the right collarbone he broke in seven places at the recent Catalunya round, said: “This feels good. I was aggressive in the first couple of laps to hold position and I thought if I can hang in sixth place I was going to be happy with that. I thought let’s finish the race and go home and think about Assen. I was happy to qualify eighth but never in a million years did I think I’d be on the podium just over a week after breaking my collarbone.”

Edwards tore muscles away from his ribcage in the Catalunya crash and he said the pain from that injury was more distracting than his collarbone.

He added: “My collarbone has been no problem. The muscle that separated from my ribs has been the big problem. But the rain definitely helped because it was a lot less physical than in the dry. I just gritted my teeth and got on with it, just trying to stay smooth and not make any mistakes. Conditions were pretty bad and it was a case of working out when and where you could push.

“Everyone started going down like dominos and I saw P3 on by board and I couldn’t believe it. At that time though there were still eight or nine laps to go and I couldn’t feel my hands or my feet because it was so wet and cold. It was an unbelievable race and to finish on the podium is amazing.”

Edwards also had some words of support for absent team-mate Cal Crutchlow. The British rider faced home heartache when a broken left collarbone he suffered in a qualifying crash ruled him out of the Silverstone race.

Crutchlow spent a second night in the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford last night having broken the collarbone in three places. He is under assessment for a neck injury.

Edwards said: “It’s a shame because Cal had a good weekend going. To break anything at your home GP, even your toe, is a bummer.  I broke my collarbone last week so it was like a virus in the team with Cal going down. I feel sorry for him and wish him a quick recovery.”

For an exclusive interview with Crutchlow, see the June 15 issue of MCN.

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