A change to the front end of the Tech 3 Yamaha M1 has restored his confidence and given him the hope that he had in the early part of the season, when he was challenging for podiums and on the pole in China.
The second half of the season hasn’t gone well for the Texan. Ever since finishing third in the Dutch TT, Edwards has gone through a rough patch. A wet weather DNF in Germany was followed by a number of downfield finishes that have dropped him from a post-Holland championship fifth to seventh. Edwards finished seventh two races ago at Motegi and eighth two weeks ago on Phillip Island.
“It feels really good to be back at the front because the last few races have been tough,” he said after setting fast time in the rain interrupted afternoon session at Sepang. “We have gone back to a front-end setting that I started the year on and it has transformed the bike and I’ve got my confidence back. We made a change at the Le Mans test with the offset and I started to have the best results of my career on tracks where I’d struggled before. I was fifth in Mugello and Catalunya, fourth in Donington and then I got on the podium in Assen, so I thought it was definitely the direction to go. I thought we’d stumbled on the magic setting, but since then I’ve struggled with the front-end.”
Because of that, he hasn’t been “able to carry the corner speed I’d like and I’ve been running wide a lot. But now I’ve changed the front back to what I’ve known for most of my Yamaha career, it feels fantastic. Now the bike isn’t pushing off line at maximum lean angle and the riding just feels natural.
“Before it felt like I had to really force the front down in the corner to get the bike steering. Now I know exactly what the front tire is doing and for me that is crucial because my style means I rely on front-end feel so much.”
That he was able to adapt was a sign of encouragement for the 34-year-old Edwards, who’s contracted with the team through next year.
“I’m running out of time to learn things at this stage of my career, but I’ve learned that I need to stick with what I know works. Michelin have got some good tires here and my race pace is really consistent. Even when the grip was dropping off a bit I was still able to run the lap times. There were a few drops of rain around but I felt confident to push, and its been a long time since I’ve felt like that.”
