Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

eve of his first preseason test of the new year at the Sepang circuit in Malaysia. Colin Edwards stopped off in Dubai for Michelin's introduction of its newest sportbike tire. the Power Race. We caught up with the Texan in an intermission between riding sessions so he could fill us in on what's been happening. en: How's the off-season been for you? collnedwards: Not long enough, but it never is. You know me: I don't do anything that's not fun. We went up to the mountains, up to Jackson Hole, for three weeks just after Christmas - we just got back actually. We went and did some dirt tracking last week. [BenI Spies came down and john Haner and a couple of other guys. There were about 40 of us out there. en: Where did the Edwards Dirt Track Academy take place? collnedwards: I bought about 20 acres about a minute and a half from where I live. It's an old dirt pit - an excavation site. The property's not worth anything because you can't build on it, so I said, 'heck, I'll buy it,' just to have a place to go play. It just happens to be that the land is nothing but clay. There's 20 acres and 15 of it is just wide open. We have like two or three tracks being built. little kids stuff... TT tracks. It was just awesome. We just kicked the s·&t out of each other. We were banging bars and people were crashing. I didn't stop grinning for two days straight. en: You sound excited for this year. colinedwards: S·&t, yeah. man. I'm chomping at the bit. The bike, from what I know, hasn't changed a whole lot. I think the chassis is pretty similar and the chassis is so good on the thing. That's the most important thing for me: to get a good chassis - something that turns - and you ride it the way you want to ride it. en: Last year was frustratIng for you, wasn't it? collnedwards: Last year was real frustrating. I'd gel with the bike one weekend, and the next weekend it was the worst thing I'd ever ridden in my life. I'm not the point-and.shoot guy. and that's really the way you had to ride the Honda. It was embarrassing more than anything. The new big tire came out and we had all kinds of chatter. Honda forgot that they had to change the chassis to fix the problem, and finally they did... it was just on and on and on - begging and pleading for a new chassis, and it still wasn't that great when I got it. I was sixth in line, so it was a bit tough. en: 50 being second In line should be better? colinedwards: Well, I am second in line at the moment. But it's not even like that. I am second, but it still seems like they want to listen to me and take my input. They have Valentino [Rossi), but they're still interested in what I have to say. en: Hey, we almost got through the whole Interview without saying Valentino RossI's name. Do you get tired of talk about him? collnedwards: No, not at all. He deserves it. We're friends, and we get along great. He's a competitor as well, but how can you not admire what he's done? He's just like the rest of us. I went and rode motocross with him last year, and he really is just like the rest of us - he just wants to go out and ride on two wheels and have fun. Nick Wey: Turning Heads impressive rides for his MDK Motorsports team. Currently. he is sitting in third in the FIM World Supercross standings and sixth in the AMA Series. After loosing his factory ride with Suzuki at the end of last year, Nick Wey has pretty much formed his own team and has been turning some heads. In the first three rounds of the THQ/AMA Supercross Series, Wey has posted some en: How would you summarize your '05 season so far? nickwey: Well, I think really at the first race' did pretty well for the conditions. You know, I would have liked to have done a little better, obviously, at the first couple of races. I think I have some things to work on, and I have an idea of what those things are, and I'm trying to work on them and be a little qUicker in all the corners and through the whoops. just improve every week basically, and not get stuck in a rut and race with the guys I'm racing now, and focus on where I need to be, not where I'm at. en: Have you received your 2005 Hondas yet? nickwey: Yeah, I'm actually borrowing Transworld Motocross·... I guess their test bike. I wasn't able to get a new bike from Cernics yet, because Honda hasn't released them. But it's helped me out a lot, actually. Pro Circuit did an awesome job with the 2004 [Honda CR2S0R), but I think, obViously, with the help of Pro Circuit dialing in the suspension and engine, I think that the '05 is just that much better. It's got just a little more bottom end, a little more torque. So , couldn't be more stoked with my bike. en: How did everything come together for you? nickwey: Really, this year is just a collaboration of a lot of people that I have known from the past and friendships that I've made that have really helped and stepped in to fill the voids for the team. Without MDK's help and basically the help of every other sponsor that we have on the team, it wouldn't be possible. I can't say enough for MSR, Oxtar, HjC and Scott for sticking behind me, coming to a privateer team they still have my back 100 percent. So, I could· n't be more pumped. en: How does it feel to be a privateer again after being on a factory team? nickwey: Honestly, I couldn't be happier on the team where I'm at. It would be great to get some factory support, but I always want to keep ties with Pro Circuit. They have been great to me, and I think they build me an excellent bike. So, I can't say that, "Yeah I'd love to be just a factory rider," because Pro Circuit is doing a great job on my bike now, and I couldn't be happier with it. My situation is working out pretty well, but I'd love for Honda to step in and give me some factory backing and go from there for sure. That would be the goal. We're getting all of our bikes and parts from Cemics. and they are stepping in and helping us out a lot. And we couldn't thank them enough for stepping in and helping out where Honda couldn't.

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