PHOTOGRAPHY BY GOLD & GOOSE
MONTEREY, CA, JULY 19 – If Colin Edwards has his way, he’ll return to the 2014 MotoGP World Championship with his current NGM Mobile Forwards Racing team. The Texan has put in two years with the team and wants to be there if the team follows up with its plans of going with a different engine package next year.
“I don’t have anything either,” Edwards said in the pre-U.S. Grand Prix press conference when asked about next year. “Obviously, I would like to stay with the team I’m with. They are working on something for next year that would involve our performance being quite a bit better. I’ve done two years and I would like to do a year on a better package – absolutely.”
The better package is most likely the team leasing Yamaha engines, or switching to the new Honda.
“The better packages are out there, it’s just a matter of who’s got money,” Edwards said. “It all comes down to money at the end of the day. If you’ve got the budget and you can afford it, then you can compete a little bit more.”
Even at the age of 38, Edwards can’t see himself slowing down and slipping into retirement.
“I’m having fun,” he said. “I like popping wheelies and doing donuts. I can’t see stopping. I’m still motivated. This year we had a new package again and staying motivated and always trying to find that tenth, two-tenths or, in our case, a half a second… it’s still motivating and I’m having a good time.”
One thing he won’t consider is a move to World Superbikes.
“That would be hard,” Edwards said. “I might go to Little League baseball with my son’s team. I can’t see leaving MotoGP to go somewhere else to race motorcycles. Actually, I’m doing the Baja 1000 and I’ve almost got him [Valentino Rossi] talked into doing it so give me a few more minutes.”
Last year at this press conference, Edwards ripped into his CRT bike – calling it “a piece of s%$t.” This year things are better.
“It’s been good this year,” Edwards said. “Obviously, compared to last year, it seems like we’re step by step getting there. We’re just breaking off a little piece at a time. Barcelona we had a good weekend. That particular weekend Bridgestone came up with a particular rear tire that I liked. We have kinda that same tire this weekend as far as the casing is concerned. The bike likes it, I like it.”
