Edwards CRT MotoGP plans taking shape

MotoGP News
Date: 20/October/2011

On the eve of this weekend's penultimate round of the 2011 MotoGP season, at Sepang in Malaysia, class veteran Colin Edwards gave an update on his 'new adventure' for next season.

Edwards is the first and so far only rider to sign-up to ride one of the new cut-price 'Claiming Rule Team' bikes - the unfortunately bland name officially given to the new class of non-manufacturer entries, designed to boost flagging grid numbers.

Coinciding with the switch from 800cc to 1000cc engines, CRTs will be able to use more fuel and utilise more engine changes to help keep them on the same page as the horrendously expensive factory-built prototypes.

Edwards, 37, has been gently nudged from his happy home at Tech 3 Yamaha, but resisted retirement by signing to ride for Forward Racing Team, which is using the new CRT opportunity to step-up from Moto2 to MotoGP.

And the former double World Superbike champion has now revealed the engine and chassis combination that he will race with next season.

Edwards said: "It's a BMW-Suter, which is what I signed up for in the beginning and I'm happy to be working with those guys. It's probably not going to be competitive in the first race, maybe not in the last race either, but we'll work extremely hard to build it and test it.

"It's a new adventure and a lot of work. Sorting out personnel, crew chiefs, mechanics and all that. I'm accustomed to coming to a new team, signing a piece of paper, riding the motorcycle and going home!  So it's a lot more work than I'm accustomed to.

"But at the end of the day our sport has a dream and a vision. I think everybody wants to see closer, competitive racing in MotoGP like it is in Moto2. Somebody has to start it."

The present MotoGP grid contains just 17 full-time riders, supported by four manufacturers - Honda, Yamaha, Ducati and Suzuki.

All except Suzuki have confirmed they will remain in MotoGP next year, although exact bike numbers remain a mystery with some satellite teams struggling for the necessary budgets.

That loss could be CRTs gain, with some of the established independent teams now looking to follow in Edwards' footsteps, rather than try and find the much higher costs needed to lease a manufacturer bike.

The BMW-Suter lapped 3.9sec behind Casey Stoner's pace-setting 1000cc RC213V in August's Brno test.