Colin Edwards

Colin Edwards II (born February 27, 1974), nicknamed the "Texas Tornado", is an American former professional motorcycle racer who retired half-way through the 2014 season. He is a double World Superbike champion and competed in the MotoGP class from 2003 to 2014.

Early years Edwards was born in Conroe, Texas. At the age of three, his Australian father, Colin Edwards Sr. (an amateur motorcycle racer himself), introduced him to a minibike, and Edwards entered his first motocross race at the age of four. Over the next ten years, Edwards became one of the top-ranked junior motocross competitors in the US, winning dozens of races in the 50cc to 80cc categories in local, regional and national events.

In 1988, at the age of 14, Edwards stopped competing in motocross races, having become distracted by the normal demands of being a teenager. However, in 1990, Edwards and his father attended a motorcycle road race event in north Texas, and this inspired him to attempt road racing.

In 1991, Edwards began competing in amateur road-racing events locally, but rapidly progressed to national events. He was undefeated in every amateur event he entered that year, and won numerous national amateur titles. His performance was sufficiently impressive for him to be offered a sponsored ride with South West Motorsports, and Edwards turned professional just before the commencement of the 1992 season.

Career In his first professional season (1992), Edwards entered the AMA 250cc National Series. He won five of the nine races and the national title over second-place earner Kenny Roberts, Jr. In 1993 and 1994, Edwards rode for Vance & Hines on a Yamaha in the AMA Superbike Championship, earning sixth and fifth place overall in those years.

Superbike World Championship In , Edwards was offered a factory position with Yamaha in the Superbike World Championship. Colin Edwards results started to suffer after a crash in Germany. In the next four races, Edwards failed to break the top-ten and his best result since the podium at Assen was a sixth place at the final round of the season at Valencia.

Therefore, Edwards will once again be riding for Tech3 Yamaha in 2009 as he searches for his first MotoGP victory.

2009

Edwards once again demonstrated consistent form in the 2009 MotoGP season, establishing himself as the strongest satellite rider in the championship. He secured a second-place finish in the British Grand Prix at Donington Park.

After being caught in a crash at the San Marino Grand Prix, Edwards directed typically outspoken criticism towards Alex de Angelis, claiming: "We are in Italy and occasionally you have to deal with an Italian rider who wants to be a hero and today that was De Angelis. De Angelis is the guy who needed to be wearing Valentino’s donkey helmet," in reference to a special edition helmet being worn by Valentino Rossi.

2010 On October 1, 2009, Edwards announced that he had signed a one-year contract extension that would see him ride for Tech3 Yamaha in the season. His teammate will be fellow American Ben Spies.

2011

On September 19, 2010, Edwards signed a one-year contract extension to ride for Tech3 Yamaha in the season, partnering Cal Crutchlow.

At the Catalan Grand Prix, Edwards broke his right collarbone during second practice, which successfully had a plate added. Nine days later, and in his first race since injury, Edwards took a third-place finish at the British Grand Prix at Silverstone, having been promoted to a podium placing after accidents for Jorge Lorenzo and Marco Simoncelli. It was his first podium finish since a second-place result at the 2009 British Grand Prix at Donington Park.

On October 23, along with Valentino Rossi, Edwards was involved in the accident that killed Marco Simoncelli at the Malaysian Grand Prix, injuring his left shoulder and ending his season. Josh Hayes replaced him for Valencia.

2012 On September 3, 2011, Edwards announced that he would leave the Tech3 team, to ride as the single entry for NGM Mobile Forward Racing in . The team was making their re-entry to the premier class under the new Claiming Rule Teams regulations with a Suter chassis powered by a BMW engine.

2013 Remaining with Forward Racing for 2013, Edwards was partnered with rookie Claudio Corti on FTR-Kawasaki machinery.

2014

Edwards again remained with Forward Racing for 2014, this time partnering Aleix Espargaró on Yamaha-based machines. At a press conference prior to the 2014 Motorcycle Grand Prix of the Americas, Edwards announced that the 2014 season will be his final MotoGP season, citing the struggle to adapt to a different riding style. It was stated after the Indianapolis round, that he would not compete in the second half of the season, and was replaced by Alex de Angelis. During commentary for the British MotoGP round at Silverstone on August 31, 2014, Edwards revealed he will be a test rider for Yamaha and Michelin for the next two years.

Suzuka 8 Hours In 1996, Edwards teamed with Noriyuki Haga to claim victory in the Suzuka 8 Hours endurance race riding a Yamaha, his first international victory. Edwards won the 8 Hours two more times: in 2001 with Valentino Rossi, and in 2002 with the late Daijiro Kato, both times with Honda.

Other racing activities Edwards has twice represented the United States in the Michelin Race of Champions Nation's Cup, first in 2000 and again in 2002 when the US team won the event. The competition involves a national team that includes an automobile racer, a rally/off-road driver and a motorcycle racer. The 2002 US team included former off-road racer and NASCAR rookie Jimmie Johnson as the rally driver, and four-time NASCAR champion Jeff Gordon in the automobile category.

Broadcasting Following the end of his racing career, Edwards joined British MotoGP broadcaster BT Sport in 2016 as a pundit in their pre- and post-race programming.

Texas Tornado Boot Camp The Colin Edwards Texas Tornado Boot Camp or TTBC is a world class motorcycle training facility built on a plot of land near Lake Conroe. It is a premier training facility for those new to riding, motorcycle enthusiasts, as well as professionals looking to polish up on their skills. TTBC offers a wide range of moto training and events including 1&2 day camps, private camps, Dirt Wars, racers camps and The Colin Edwards 4 day Experience. The "Colin Edwards Experience" is a 4-day camp with Edwards himself involved in the training, including time on the 500yard gun range.

Training facilities TTBC includes a dirt oval, covered TT track with lights for night riding, open TT track, 500-yard gun range, Mini Bike MX Track, and a bunk house and classroom facility.

Career statistics

Superbike World Championship

By season SeasonMotorcycleTeamRaceWinPodiumPoleFLapPtsPlcdWCh 1995 Yamaha Yamaha World Superbike Team 20 0 2 0 1 141 11th – 1996 Yamaha Yamaha World Superbike Team 20 0 7 2 0 248 5th – 1997 Yamaha Yamaha World Superbike Team 8 0 1 0 1 79 12th – 1998 Honda Castrol Honda 24 3 6 0 0 277.5 5th – 1999 Honda Castrol Honda 26 5 10 2 3 361 2nd – 2000 Honda Castrol Honda 26 8 12 6 6 400 1st 1 2001 Honda Castrol Honda 25 4 12 0 4 333 2nd – 2002 Honda Castrol Honda 26 11 25 5 8 552 1st 1 Total 175 31 75 15 23 2391.5 2

Races by year (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position, races in italics indicate fastest lap) Year Bike 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Pos Pts R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 1995 Yamaha GER7 GER5 SMRRet SMRRet GBR18 GBR12 ITA3 ITA5 ESP10 ESP11 AUT9 AUTRet USA8 USA9 GBR5 GBR2 JPN6 JPN10 NEDRet NED6 INA INA AUS AUS 11th 141 1996 Yamaha SMR11 SMR7 GBR6 GBR4 GER3 GER5 ITA3 ITA5 CZE6 CZE7 USA4 USARet GBR4 GBR3 INA5 INA4 JPN JPN NED NED ESP2 ESP3 AUS2 AUS3 5th 248 1997 Yamaha AUSRet AUS2 SMR6 SMR8 GBR5 GBR6 GER7 GER5 ITA ITA USA USA GBR GBR AUT AUT NED NED ESP ESP JPN JPN INA INA 12th 79 1998 Honda AUS7 AUS7 GBR6 GBR7 ITA1 ITA1 ESP5 ESPRet GER2 GER2 SMR3 SMR4 RSA9 RSA4 USA11 USA10 GBR1 GBR4 AUT7 AUT9 NED5 NED4 JPN13 JPN13 5th 279.5 1999 Honda RSA5 RSA4 AUS3 AUS3 GBR3 GBR1 ESPRet ESP1 ITA2 ITA2 GERRet GER4 SMR6 SMR7 USA4 USA5 GBR1 GBR1 AUT1 AUT8 NED5 NED5 GER4 GER5 JPN9 JPN9 2nd 361 2000 Honda RSA1 RSA1 AUS5 AUS5 JPN5 JPN3 GBR1 GBRRet ITA2 ITA1 GER4 GER2 SMRRet SMR10 ESP5 ESP4 USA2 USA4 GBR10 GBR6 NED1 NED5 GER1 GER1 GBR8 GBR1 1st 400 2001 Honda ESP6 ESP4 RSA1 RSARet AUS1 AUSC JPN12 JPN13 ITA2 ITA2 GBR5 GBR6 GER1 GER3 SMR3 SMR11 USA6 USA6 GBR3 GBR5 GER1 GER2 NED3 NED10 ITA3 ITARet 2nd 333 2002 Honda ESP4 ESP3 AUS2 AUS2 RSA2 RSA3 JPN1 JPN2 ITA3 ITA2 GBR1 GBR2 GER2 GER2 SMR2 SMR2 USA3 USA1 GBR1 GBR1 GER1 GER1 NED1 NED1 ITA1 ITA1 1st 552

Suzuka 8 Hours results

Grand Prix motorcycle racing

By season

By class

Races by year (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position, races in italics indicate fastest lap) Year Class Bike 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 Pos Pts 2003 MotoGP Aprilia JPN6 RSARet SPA14 FRA10 ITA9 CATRet NED7 GBR10 GER14 CZE12 POR14 BRA13 PAC17 MAL13 AUS16 VAL8 13th 62 2004 MotoGP Honda RSA7 SPA7 FRA5 ITA12 CAT5 NED6 BRA6 GER5 GBR2 CZE7 POR9 JPNRet QAT2 MAL11 AUS4 VAL8 5th 157 2005 MotoGP Yamaha SPA9 POR6 CHN8 FRA3 ITA9 CAT7 NED3 USA2 GBR4 GER8 CZE7 JPN6 MAL10 QAT4 AUS6 TUR7 VAL8 4th 179 2006 MotoGP Yamaha SPA11 QAT9 TUR9 CHN3 FRA6 ITA12 CAT5 NED13 GBR6 GER12 USA9 CZE10 MAL10 AUSRet JPN8 POR4 VAL9 7th 124 2007 MotoGP Yamaha QAT6 SPA3 TURRet CHN11 FRA12 ITA12 CAT10 GBR2 NED6 GER4 USA11 CZERet RSM9 POR10 JPN14 AUS9 MAL10 VAL13 9th 124 2008 MotoGP Yamaha QAT7 SPARet POR4 CHN7 FRA3 ITA5 CAT5 GBR4 NED3 GERRet USA14 CZE14 RSM10 INP15 JPN7 AUS8 MAL8 VAL6 7th 144 2009 MotoGP Yamaha QAT4 JPN12 SPA7 FRA7 ITA6 CAT7 NED4 USA7 GER9 GBR2 CZE7 INP5 RSMRet POR5 AUS5 MAL13 VAL4 5th 161 2010 MotoGP Yamaha QAT8 SPA12 FRA12 ITA13 GBR9 NED8 CAT11 GERRet USA7 CZE7 INPRet RSM7 ARA12 JPN5 MALNC AUS7 POR7 VAL12 11th 103 2011 MotoGP Yamaha QAT8 SPARet POR6 FRA13 CATDNS GBR3 NED7 ITA9 GER10 USA8 CZE8 INP7 RSM13 ARA13 JPN8 AUS5 MALC VAL 9th 109 MotoGP Suter QAT12 SPA16 PORDNS FRA CATNC GBR16 NEDRet GER12 ITARet USA13 INP13 CZE13 RSM11 ARA18 JPN13 MALRet AUSRet VAL14 20th 27 MotoGP FTR Kawasaki QATRet AMERet SPA15 FRA16 ITA14 CAT9 NED17 GER13 USA12 INP13 CZE11 GBR14 RSM12 ARA16 MAL15 AUS12 JPN12 VAL15 14th 41 MotoGP Forward Yamaha QAT9 AMERet ARG20 SPARet FRA17 ITA15 CAT18 NED22 GER20 INP13 CZE GBR RSM ARA JPN AUS MAL VAL 22nd 11