We know that Colin Edwards would never had been on the podium at Silverstone today if Jorge Lorenzo and Marco Simoncelli hadn’t binned it under torrential rain showers, but he was running a very solid fifth, much better than more titled riders considering that he had his collarbone plated just last week. Heroic and stoic are probably the best words to describe the Texas Tornado this weekend.

“That was an unbelievable race and to finish on the podium feels amazing. 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. I need to thank Dr Xavier Mir for the repair job he did on my shoulder and also my guys at Monster Yamaha Tech 3 because they gave me a phenomenal bike today. My shoulder felt great and it was the muscle damage around my ribs that caused me the most pain. 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. I’d have been happy to fin ish the race and then go home to think about Assen. But I saw a few people succumbing to the conditions 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 difficult but it was a good way to the end the weekend for the Team after what happened to Cal. Nobody wants to get hurt, but being injured for your home race is really tough to take, so I wish him a quick recovery and hope to see him back in Assen.”

Team mate Cal Crutchlow who broke his left collarbone in three places on Saturday during qualifying, is still in the John Radcliffe Hospital with no decision having yet to made if the surgery he’ll need will be carried out in Oxford or in Manchester, where the doctor who did his previous shoulder surgery is. The Brit is also being assessed for a neck injury.

....

0 comments

You’ve got give Colin Edwards a round of applause, because after breaking his right collarbone in seven places in last week’s practice seesion at the Montmelo circuit and undergoing three hours of surgery to insert a titanium plate and 13 screws he’ll be participating in this weekend’s MotoGP round at Silverstone.

The Yamaha Tech3 rider tried to pass a fitness test the day after his surgery so he could at least start the race and not screw up his record of 141 appearances, but was denied which left him a little disappointed, but today the medical staff at the British circuit gave him the green light judging him fit to race.

“I was confident I would get through the medical and now I’m just looking forward to the weekend and being back on track with the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team,” said Colin Edwards. “The shoulder feels fantastic and I can’t thank Dr Xavier Mir and his staff enough because without them I wouldn’t be in a position to even consider riding. I know it is not going to be an easy weekend because there are some fast changes of direction and hard braking at Silverstone, but I’m confident I can do a good job and bring home some points for the Team.”

....

0 comments

Colin Edwards will have to undergo surgery after breaking his right collarbone during this afternoon’s second free practice at Montmelo.

Edwards was probably caught out by a cold slick tire after switching bikes and on the out lap crashed heavily at turn 5. After the initial diagnosis the Texan was taken to the reknowned Dexeus Institute where he’ll undergo surgery performed by Dr Xavier Mir, who has previously treated Dani Pedrosa and Jorge Lorenzo.

“Unfortunately Colin has broken his right collarbone and this is a big shame for him and for the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team because we were confident he was going to be very strong and competitive this weekend,” said team manager Herve Poncharal. “Colin has been superb so far this season and he has shown that even when the competition is probably stronger than ever in MotoGP, he is still one of the fastest out there. It looks like he paid a heavy price for a very small mistake. He landed heavily on his shoulder and it was clear from the TV pictures that he was in a lot of pain. He will have an operation tonight, so we should have a clearer idea of how long the recovery process will be later this weekend. The important thing now is that he rests and recovers as quickly as he possibly can. We wish him a fast recovery and hope that it is not too long before we see him back in the garage.”

This will be the first time after 141 races in MotoGP that the Texas Tornado will miss a start and with Dani Pedrosa already sidelined, the grid with be down to only 15 riders with everyone guaranteed to pick up points if they finish the race.

....

0 comments

Reports from several media sources regarding the fatal accident that involved a 54- year-old French motorcyclist and a Yamaha Tech3 truck at the La Ciotat toll booth, is that Colin Edward’s highly regarded and veteran crew chief Guy Coulon may have been behind the wheel of the truck.

We’ve already asked our French colleagues at Motoblog.fr to try to confirm or deny the reports and we’ll let you know as soon we get any further news.

....

0 comments

Yamaha’s Tech3 team upcoming weekend at Le Mans has started in a very tragic way. One of their trucks was invovled in fatal accident that caused the death of a 54-year old motorcyclist at the La Ciotat toll booth on the A50 highway in France.

The driver of the semi-trailer for some reason which still has to be determined by the police, backed up at the toll booth and hit the biker that was waiting directly behind him, trapping him under his truck and dragging him backwards for over 10 meters without ever realizing the presence of the motorcyclist.

Despite immediate medical help the biker died on the spot of his injuries. The driver is now in custody and should be prosecuted for manslaughter.

Source | motosblog.fr

....

0 comments

Stefan Bradl’s name is coming up often as one the crop of Moto2 riders to make the big jump to MotoGP next season.

The German who currently leads the Moto2 championship after three races, has been mentioned as one of BMW’s riders , if German manufacturer should decide to join MotoGP in 2012, but according Speedweek.eu it seems that Yamaha also has a big interest in him and wants to scoop him up for Herve Poncharal’s YamahaTech 3 team.

Father Helmut Bradl, who was also a former GP rider, was at Jerez and discussed the possibility with Yamaha’s head honcho Lin Jarvis who declared, “Bradl is a very interesting rider for us, and Germany is a very important market for Yamaha,” while Bradl said, “Tech 3 is one of the few teams interested in me making the step up to MotoGP, but it’s not something I want to think too much about at the moment.”

Jarvis certainly has an eye for young talent, he’s the one that brought Jorge Lorenzo and Ben Spies into Yamaha in these last year’s, but it could also mean that everyone’s favourite and extremely quotable rider Colin Edwards may be very close to hanging up his racing lid and follow his Texas Tornado Boot Camp full-time.

....

0 comments

Shoulder surgery to repair ligaments and tendons in December 2010, lost his the tip of his little finger during practice session in Qatar, and now Cal Crutchlow has undergone surgery to solve the most common bane of most professional motorcycle racers, arm pump.

The British rider underwent surgery at the Policlinico di Modena to move the muscles in his right arm that were trapping nerves and causing numbness in his hand and arm. The Yamaha Tech3 rider will be followed by the Clinica Mobile staff and Dr. Costa and have his stitches removed in 12 days, just in time for the Estoril GP that starts April 29th.

“Since the start of the year I’ve had a problem with my arm muscles and nerves and my hand went numb when I was riding,” said Crutchlow. “It started in Sepang in testing and it occurs each time I ride the bike. Therefore we decided to do this operation to solve the issue, so I can be in 100 per cent physical condition for the rest of the season. With this break we have now, it was the perfect time to have the surgery and be assured that I can be back in peak condition for the next race in Portugal. At the moment I can’t feel two of my fingers, but the doctor said that is completely normal and that the feeling will come back very soon. They had to move the muscles from the nerves as the muscle was trapping the nerves and that’s why I was losing feeling in my hand and arm. The doctors said that in 12 days the stitches will come off and I will be able to ride in Portugal, so I’m really looking forward to riding the bike without the problem with my arm.”

Arm pump is so common amongst GP riders, that Toni Elias has had the same surgery something like three times so far, while Nicky Hayden underwent surgery for the same problem just two months ago.

....

0 comments

Cal Crutchlow’s learning curve on the Yamaha M1, took a step backwards during the final night of testing at the Losail race circuit.

The Tech3 rider was one of the numerous riders who crashed and the only one who picked up a painful injury that could hamper his rookie MotoGP debut. Following a heavy crash at turn 10, his left hand got trapped under the handlebar of his M1 and the incident cost him the tip of his little finger, but fortunately he won’t be needing surgery.

“The test certainly didn’t end how I wanted and it is a real shame because we had made some changes to the balance of the bike that really helped my confidence with the front-end tonight. But I made a silly little mistake at Turn 10,” said Crutchlow. “I lost the rear and closed the throttle but then lost the front and I couldn’t get my left hand out from underneath the handlebar. I’ve basically taken the tip off my left little finger and it is really sore now. I don’t need surgery but it is obviously going to be uncomfortable this weekend for the race now. It is a shame because I was only 0.5s away from the top ten last night. I adapted to riding under the floodlights really quickly once I realised the shadows weren’t somebody trying to overtake me! I was confident of taking another step tonight and I’m sure I could have done without the crash.”

“It cost me nearly three hours of track time, which I can’t really afford to lose at this stage, but I’m still looking forward to my MotoGP debut. It will be an honour to line-up against this field on Sunday night and as always I’ll be giving it my best.”

Photo source | calcrutchlowforum

....

0 comments

Our French speaking cousins at Motosblog.fr had the opportunity to talk to Hervé Poncharal, Yamaha Tech3 and Moto2 boss the other day, and since we don’t often hear from the other side of the Alps, we thought that a translation of the interview would be an interesting read.

Motosblog: Hervé, we saw at Sepang two very different Tech3 riders. Edwards, the “old wolf” who was testing well, while Crutchlow was trying to understand his bike, what do you think?

HP: Just to get started, I’ll tell you Vincent that we’ll see a great season, the last of the 800cc will be the most exciting and most beautiful ever.

Continue reading: Interview with Hervé Poncharal Yamaha Tech3 boss

....

0 comments

Ben Spies is going to grit his teeth and will be racing at Valencia this weekend and you can bet that he’ll be testing the factory Yamaha M1 for the first time on Tuesday and Wednesday, but he’s thinks that he may have to undergo surgery on his left ankle as soon as the MotoGP season is over and the test ban goes into effect.

The Yamaha Tech3 rider crashed out on the sighting lap at Estoril before heading to the grid line-up, dislocating his ankle and aggravating his previous injury that he first picked up during the third round at Le Mans and then at the Silverstone GP.

“The injury has not affected me in a lot of races this season, but if I had not been racing I probably would have had the surgery to fix it,” Spies said. “Now I’ve just got understand what happens at Valencia this week, and if I stay for the test or if I have surgery the day I get home. I might even have to take more time to diagnose something - there is definitely something wrong. The surgery would be for the ligament,” he said. “The x-rays shows there is no sign of a fracture now, which is good, but ligaments and tendons can be worse. Something is definitely not right but I can’t speculate and my intention is to go to Valencia and race and then decide what to do.”

Source | speedtv.com

....

0 comments

As previously anticpated, Cal Crutchlow was at Yamaha’s Fukuori track in Japan to get his first taste of the M1 in a private two day test session ahead of next month’s official end of season testing in Valencia.

Crutchlow will be replacing Ben Spies in the Yamaha Tech3 outfit next season, was clearly impressed by the electronics and the carbon brakes of the M1.

“The M1 felt a lot smaller than my Yamaha R1 superbike,” he said. “I actually found the positioning more comfortable than the WSB machine. There is a lot of power but it feels very useable, it felt very different to a production based machine in terms of its delivery. In the wet we used the normal steel brakes but when it started to dry I had a chance to try the carbon ones which were cool, I managed to get quite comfortable with them. I found the chassis very stiff, it was really easy to change direction and the electronics were really different, even more advanced than the high level I’m used to in Superbike! It was a shame the weather wasn’t great so I wasn’t able to push to the bike’s full potential, I’m really looking forward to the Valencia test so I can get back on it and give it a proper work out!”

The video is Cal Crutchlow’s personal review of his year in World Superbikes.

....

0 comments

Ben Spies finished in fifth today at Phillip Island and mathematically took this year’s Rookie of the Year title beating Marco Simoncelli not only in the race, but also for the best rookie on a de-tuned satellite Yamaha compared to Simoncelli’s almost full spec Honda.

Here’s what the Texas Terror had to say about his race and the coveted title.

“Jorge and I got super close coming out of the first corner and he almost touched my brake lever. It made me run wide in turn two and a couple of people came by. It didn’t ruin the race but it ruined me building up some momentum. I fought my way back into third and was pretty comfortable when I ran wide at the first corner on lap seven. I got in there a bit hot and the rear came round. Everybody got a run on me and came by and dropped me back to sixth. I then had a good battle with Simoncelli. I kind of towed him around and he picked up his pace and came by me. Once I knew nobody was behind me, I just waited until a few laps from the end to push and pass him back. I made sure I got a decent gap and chilled out in fifth. At the end I was running times that if everything had gone smoothly, I feel like we could have battled for the podium. Towards the end of the race I was running similar times to those ahead of me and that’s all I can do. I’m happy to be Rookie of the Year too. I beat a lot of good guys for that and it will be an achievement I can be proud of at the end of the season. I’ve had some good results on this three-week stretch and I’m now looking forward to the last two rounds.”

....

0 comments