Edwards donates test to Bridgestone, Yamaha

Colin Edwards, eighth in Sunday's Czech Republic MotoGP, found his renowned development skills in high demand during Monday's test.

The 37-year-old Tech 3 Yamaha rider evaluated a new front tyre and two new rear tyre compounds that Bridgestone plan to make available in 2012 for the new 1000cc class.

The Texan also worked his way through a range of different electronics settings to supply Yamaha technicians with a wealth of feedback for the future.

In between, Edwards set a best time of 1min 58.412sec from his 44 laps, which beat his best lap time in the grand prix, but was quicker than only the CRT motorcycle of Mika Kallio on Monday.

"Today was just about getting some information for Bridgestone and Yamaha," said Edwards. "The new tyres I tested seemed to be a good step in the right direction, so they've got a lot of information and feedback to analyse and digest now.

"I'm happy with the direction Bridgestone is going with the rear tyre. I tried two today, and both give you a lot more security. There's not so much risk involved in the first couple of laps, so credit to Bridgestone because they have listened to our comments this season and taken action to improve the tyres and I'm really pleased.

"I also ran some new electronics for Yamaha and there were a couple of interesting options.

"I'm looking forward to going home now and relaxing ahead of another important race in Indianapolis. To have two home races in such a short space of time is awesome, so I'm looking forward to putting on a good show for the American fans."

Edwards is ninth in the world championship after eleven rounds and just one point behind Marco Simoncelli.

Edwards and Simoncelli are the only non-factory team riders to stand on the MotoGP podium this year. Simoncelli has use of a full factory bike at Gresini Honda.