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Colin Edwards
Edwards in 2014
Born	(1974-02-27)February 27, 1974 (age 51) Conroe, Texas, United States
Website	www.texastornadobootcamp.com www.colinedwards5.com
Motorcycle racing career statistics MotoGP World Championship Active years 2003–2014 Manufacturers Aprilia (2003) Honda (2004) Yamaha (2005–2011) Suter (2012) FTRKawasaki (2013) ForwardYamaha (2014) Championships 0 2014 championship position 22nd (11 pts) Starts Wins Podiums Poles F. laps Points 196 0 12 3 3 1242 Superbike World Championship Active years 1995–2002 Manufacturers Honda,Yamaha Championships 2(2000,2002) 2002 championship position 1st (552 pts) Starts Wins Podiums Poles F. laps Points 175 31 75 15 23 2391.5

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

Edwards was born inConroe, 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 motorcycleroad race event in north Texas, and this inspired him to attemptroad 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.

In his first professional season (1992), Edwards entered theAMA 250cc National Series.^[1] He won five of the nine races and the national title over second-place earnerKenny Roberts, Jr. In 1993 and 1994 Edwards rode for Vance & Hines on a Yamaha in theAMA Superbike Championship, earning 6th and 5th place overall in those years.

In1995, Edwards was offered a factory position with Yamaha in theSuperbike World Championship.^[1] His results in1995 were disappointing as Edwards struggled to adjust to the demands of competing in a global competition, and he missed the last two meetings after teammateYasutomo Nagai perished in a crash atAssen. In1996 he achieved a greatly improved sixth overall in the Superbike World championship.

1997 was a disappointing year for Edwards as he was forced to withdraw from competing due to injuries sustained in the fifth round of the Superbike World Championship. He was replaced in the Yamaha World Superbike Team and was unable to negotiate a position in the 500cc Grand Prix competition. Fortunately Edwards was able to conclude a deal withHonda to ride theRC45 motorcycle in the1998 Superbike World Championship. Edwards finished fifth overall that year, and earned his first solo international victories with a double win atMonza followed by his 3rd win of the season atBrands Hatch.

In1999, Edwards managed several more victories for Honda (including leading teammateAaron Slight home twice atBrands Hatch, giving Honda a rare Double-1-2) and ended the season in second overall position, behind championCarl Fogarty. In2000, Edwards rode the newHonda VTR-1000 SP1/RC51 twin cylinder motorcycle to overall victory in the Superbike World Championship afterYamaha rider and points leader,Noriyuki Haga was disqualified for testing positive for a banned substance. Edwards came second toDucati rider,Troy Bayliss in2001 but reclaimed the title from Bayliss in2002 in a dramatic fashion, clinching the championship in the final race of the season inImola (Italy).^[1] Edwards also holds the record for the most points in a single season with 552 points in 2002 breaking the previous record of 489 points set byCarl Fogarty in 1999. Runner-upTroy Bayliss also broke the previous record with 541 points.

After winning his 2ndSuperbike World Championship Edwards moved toMotoGP in 2003. He rode for the greatly troubledAprilia team on theRS Cube, and his only notable accomplishment in that otherwise dismal year was avoiding serious injury when his machine caught fire due to an incorrectly fitted fuel cap atSachsenring. Yet Edwards, known in all motorcycle paddocks as a great bike tester, tried to no avail to help lift the struggling team.

2004 saw Edwards riding forTelefonica MovistarHonda, and he achieved his first MotoGP podium position atDonington.^[1] Edwards finished the season in fifth overall position.

In2005, Edwards moved toGauloisesYamaha factory team as the teammate to the world championValentino Rossi.^[1] His best result for 2005 was a second position atLaguna Seca, behind compatriotNicky Hayden. He finished the season fourth overall.

For2006, Edwards continued riding for theCamelYamaha factory team on board the YZR-M1 with teammate and good friendValentino Rossi in theMotoGP championship. The factory Yamaha team had a troubling start to their racing year with "chatter" problems and tire wear issues.

The factory team built a newchassis for the 2006 spec YZR-M1 to combat the aforementioned problems. Rossi took to the new chassis quickly and rode to victory at his home race ofMugello for the fifth consecutive time since 2001. Edwards did not have the time to "gel" with the new chassis early in the season, which resulted in him sticking with the older version for the Mugello race. He finished 12th.

AtAssen, Edwards took the lead at the start, and led untilNicky Hayden passed him on the penultimate lap. He caught back up to his countryman on the last lap, and managed to pass him a few corners from the end. When Hayden attempted to pass him again in the final chicane, Edwards ran across the AstroTurf and lost control of his bike, which briefly continued on without him. He remounted to finish 13th. Hayden, who ran across the gravel on the final chicane himself, managed to keep control of his bike and won the race.^[1] At his home race, theRed BullU.S. Grand Prix, Edwards finished ninth suffering tire problems in the scorching heat like his teammateValentino Rossi. AtEstoril he qualified second and finished fourth in one of his most competitive showings of the season.

2007 brought great prospects early on. Edwards entered his second of a two-year deal with Yamaha factory team, now known asFiatYamaha riding the new Yamaha YZR-M1 800cc. Yet after starting second on the grid inIstanbul, a first lap crash caused byOlivier Jacque took him out. AtLe Mans, Edwards took pole position, but made a slow start and gambled on switching to wet tyres in damp conditions. He did this too early, and by the time it was wet enough his tyres had shredded, forcing him to pit again and finish at the back of the field.

Fiat Yamaha was having problems with the M1 and the Michelin tires, Edwards along with teammate Valentino Rossi both struggled to find competitive set up nearly the entire season to run up front.^[1] Edwards best result of the season was 2nd (equaling his career best in MotoGP) at the wet British Grand Prix at Donington Park.

For the2008 season, Edwards continued in MotoGP, this time for the satellite Tech3 Yamaha team alongside fellowSuperbike World ChampionJames Toseland. A series of solid performances left him 5th in the overall standings after nine rounds, never qualifying lower than 6th on the grid and finishing on the podium twice. After qualifying 6th for round 9 atAssen, he was delayed by Rossi's early crash and was in next to last place at the end of the first lap (in front of only Rossi, who was able to rejoin the race), however he then fought back to snatch 3rd fromNicky Hayden at the final corner after Hayden ran out of fuel, gaining a measure of revenge for the 2006 race at the track.^[2] Colin Edwards results started to suffer after a crash in Germany.^[3] 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.^[4]

Edwards confirmed that he had signed for Tech3 for yet another season. "It is no secret that I had agreed with Yamaha to finish my MotoGP career at the end of 2008 and continue my racing career with them in America, but as soon as I began working with the Tech3 team I instantly formed a great relationship with my guys."^[5]Therefore, Edwards will once again be riding for Tech3 Yamaha in 2009 as he searches for his first MotoGP victory.

Edwards once again demonstrated consistent form in the2009 MotoGP season, establishing himself as the strongest satellite rider in the championship. He secured a second-place finish in theBritish Grand Prix atDonington Park.

After being caught in a crash at theSan Marino Grand Prix, Edwards directed typically outspoken criticism towardsAlex 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 byValentino Rossi.^[6]

On October 1, 2009 Edwards announced that he had signed a one-year contract extension that would see him ride for Tech3 Yamaha in the2010 season. His teammate will be fellow AmericanBen Spies.^[7]

On September 19, 2010, Edwards signed a one-year contract extension to ride for Tech3 Yamaha in the2011 season, partneringCal Crutchlow.^[8]

At theCatalan Grand Prix, Edwards broke his right collarbone during second practice, which successfully had a plate added.^[9][10] Nine days later, and in his first race since injury, Edwards took a third-place finish at theBritish Grand Prix atSilverstone, having been promoted to a podium placing after accidents forJorge Lorenzo andMarco Simoncelli. It was his first podium finish since a second-place result at the2009 British Grand Prix atDonington Park.^[11]

On October 23, along withValentino Rossi, Edwards was involved in the accident that killedMarco Simoncelli at theMalaysian Grand Prix, injuring his left shoulder and ending his season.Josh Hayes replaced him for Valencia.^[12]

On September 3, 2011, Edwards announced that he would leave the Tech3 team, to ride as the single entry forNGM Mobile Forward Racing in2012.^[13] The team was making their re-entry to the premier class under the newClaiming Rule Teams regulations with aSuter chassis powered by aBMW engine.

Remaining with Forward Racing for2013, Edwards was partnered with rookieClaudio Corti onFTR-Kawasaki machinery.

Edwards again remained with Forward Racing for2014, this time partneringAleix Espargaró onYamaha-based machines. At a press conference prior to the2014 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.^[14] It was stated after theIndianapolis round, that he would not compete in the second half of the season, and was replaced byAlex 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.

In 1996, Edwards teamed withNoriyuki Haga to claim victory in theSuzuka 8 Hours endurance race riding aYamaha, his first international victory. Edwards won the 8 Hours two more times: in 2001 withValentino Rossi, and in 2002 with the lateDaijiro Kato, both times withHonda.

Edwards has twice represented the United States in the MichelinRace 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 rookieJimmie Johnson as the rally driver, and four-time NASCAR championJeff Gordon in the automobile category.

Following the end of his racing career, Edwards joined British MotoGP broadcasterBT Sport in 2016 as apundit in their pre- and post-race programming.

The Colin Edwards Texas Tornado Boot Camp or TTBC is a world class motorcycle training facility built on a 20-acre (81,000 m²) plot of land nearLake 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.

TTBC includes a 0.125 mi (0.201 km) dirt oval, covered TT track with lights for night riding, open TT track, 500-yard gun range, Mini Bike MX Track, and a 5,000-square-foot (460 m²) bunk house and classroom facility.

Year	Team	Co-Rider	Bike	Pos
1996	Yamaha Racing Team	Colin Edwards Noriyuki Haga	Yamaha YZF750	1st
2000	Castrol Honda	Colin Edwards Valentino Rossi	Honda VTR1000SPW	Ret
2001	TeamCabin [ja]Honda	Colin Edwards Valentino Rossi	Honda VTR1000SPW	1st
2002	TeamCabin [ja]Honda	Daijiro Kato Colin Edwards	Honda VTR1000SPW	1st

(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position, races initalics indicate fastest lap)

(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position, races initalics indicate fastest lap)

Wikimedia Commons has media related toColin Edwards.

• Colin Edwards at MotoGP.com
• Colin Edwards at WorldSBK.com
• Colin Edwards – MotoGP Rider Bios at Motorcycle-USA
• Texas Tornado Boot Camp Texas Tornado Boot Camp Motorcycle Training Camp

• 1974 births
• Living people
• American motorcycle racers
• Yamaha Motor Racing MotoGP riders
• Superbike World Championship riders
• Sportspeople from Houston
• American people of Australian descent
• Sportspeople from Conroe, Texas
• Conroe High School alumni
• Tech3 MotoGP riders
• Gresini Racing MotoGP riders
• MotoGP World Championship riders

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