Q & A with Colin Edwards
| What have you been doing in the off season ? "PR and more PR. I've actually had one hell of a schedule since the final race at Brands Hatch. I stayed in the UK for some dealer visits then I went home for nine days, then off to Manila and Bangkok for Castrol, onto Eastern Creek and Phillip Island to test. From there to the Canary Islands for Michelin, to the UK for three days, onto Monaco for the FIM awards, home for a day then I was in Wyoming having a break for Christmas and New Year. I didn't do any training in the gym just walking at altitude up in Wyoming and a bit of snowboarding and stuff." What improvements do you envisage to the VTR ? "We've really looked back on 2000, looked at what we learnt and tried to improve on as many areas of the machine as possible. At the moment we've improved the chassis a little and HRC have modified the exhaust but we won't get down to business with a 2001-spec machine until the Valencia test next month. HRC have also improved the engine but the power curve has stayed the same so it's not that easy to feel the difference - it's not as if they've given the machine more top end or bottom end power." How do you feel about defending a world title ? "Pretty good. I'm feeling confident. I donšt feel any pressure, I've achieved what I set out to do now I just want to keep winning. My next goal is to win more and more and try to beat what I achieved last year but I'll only do that one step at a time, one round at a time. I've thought about setting myself targets of 15 races wins or 10 race wins in a year but then I only end up looking at the calendar halfway through the year - as I'm running out of races - and I start putting pressure on myself." What is your best memory of 2000 ? "The last race at Brands Hatch. Winning that and doing the job properly ended the championship in perfect style for me. I'm not big on the mental approach to racing but at Brands Hatch I was determined to win that race - I didn't want to win the title having finished third or fourth in the final race of the year. I wanted it badly and I had a lot of family and friends at Brands Hatch that day so it made it all the more special." What is your worst memory of 2000 ? "Taking Aaron out at Misano. I'd crashed in the Superpole on Saturday, was starting from the fourth row of the grid and just left my braking too late at the end of the back straight. I was disappointed that it was Aaron I hit but also - because I went down too - disappointed that there wasn't a Castrol Honda going around in that race. It was entirely my mistake." How do you feel about your new team-mate ? "Good. It's going to be really interesting. Tady's got everything needed; ability and experience but as far as the desire goes, who knows? I don't know Tady that well so we're all going to have to wait until the first couple of rounds to see what he's up for." What do you think of the Superbike / four-stroke GP debate ? "I couldn't give a damn. Right now I do a job and I'm very happy doing that job. I'm doing circles around race tracks, getting paid for it and enjoying it. Whatever series there is I'm not bothered but right now I'm happy in Superbikes and I'm happy being in the best team." |