The Monster Yamaha Tech 3 rider placed fifth in the Grand Prix of Japan, with team-mate Ben Spies eighth at Motegi.
Colin Edwards made a stunning return to the top five in MotoGP this afternoon, the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 rider producing his best performance of 2010 to finish in a richly deserved fifth position and secure his best result since the final round of 2009 in Valencia.
A sixth successive start from the second row of the grid had raised expectations that Ben Spies could continue his outstanding recent form. But a mistake under braking at turn five forced him into the gravel trap on lap two. Spies lost eight seconds with the off-track excursion and dropped down to 15th before he embarked on an enthralling recovery to claw his way back and eventually finish eighth.
Colin Edwards – 5th:
“In terms of the result I'm really happy because it is my first top six finish of the year and I think it was deserved after all the hard work the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team and me have been putting in to improve our results. And it is always good to get a result in Japan with the race being so important for Yamaha and the Tech 3 Team. I rode good all weekend and was only four-tenths off pole, but what I'm a little disappointed about is that I'm 27 seconds behind the winner. That's a big chunk of time and I'm riding as hard as I can. I feel comfortable and I feel good on the bike now we improved the setting but I guess we just have to shoot for being top non-factory rider. It was hard in the first few laps because I didn't have a lot of feel in the left-side of the rear tyre. But once I got confident, Simoncelli passed me but I was happy just to sit behind him and study him, check where I was faster while making sure I wasn't going to leave the door open for Capirossi. I think my rear tyre had good grip for a little bit longer than Simoncelli's and I managed to pass him, put my head down for a couple of laps and managed to pull a gap."
Ben Spies – 8th:
“Considering everything that happened this weekend with me not being totally happy with the bike and then running off early on, I'm extremely happy to finish eighth, especially coming from 15th. We made a big change to the bike before the race with the geometry in the front and I ran a rear shock that we hadn't run all weekend and i t was a big step. It was a big gamble but it paid off. The front was a bit better in the turns and we definitely had better traction and it made the bike a bit easier to ride and more confidence inspiring. Going into turn five I think Loris was in front of me and it seemed like he braked really, really early. To avoid hitting him I had to move over and get on the kerb and run off track. After my pace in the warm-up I was wondering how I would be able to fight with anybody but I made some passes and I never gave up. I rode as hard as I could and while it wasn't my best result it was still a really good race. Even coming through the field I was still turning some really fast laps that without the mistake would have given me a chance of running in the top five.”
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