The welcome two-week summer break that followed an intense period of six races in eight weekends gave Colin Edwards and Cal Crutchlow the perfect opportunity to recharge their batteries for the final phase of the season.
Edwards was able to relax with family and friends at home in America while also welcoming the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team crew to his popular Texas Tornado Boot Camp immediately after the last race at Laguna Seca. The 37-year-old has been a model of consistency in 2011 with seven top ten finishes, including a stunning podium finish in a rain-lashed British Grand Prix at Silverstone. Edwards is confident he can extend his impressive sequence of results in Brno this weekend by challenging for his first top six finish at the Czech Republic venue, which is one of the most popular on the 18-round schedule.
British rider Crutchlow is looking forward to this weekend's Brno race and he's in determined mood to recapture the brilliant form he showed at the start of his rookie MotoGP campaign. Crutchlow was competing for a top ten at the previous race at Laguna Seca last month when he crashed out of contention, but the 25-year-old is optimistic he can put a disappointing run of results behind him at Brno. Crutchlow claimed pole position and one podium finish during last year's Brno World Superbike round and he's looking forward to being back on familiar territory having never previously raced on eight out of 10 tracks so far in 2011.
The Brno race is one of only four European stops remaining for the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team this season, with the French-based squad also embarking on long-haul trips to America, Japan, Australia and Malaysia in the coming weeks.
Colin Edwards:
"I am really excited about going to Brno, even though it has never been a great track for me for some reason. But it is the start of the second half of the season and I can't wait to get back on my Monster Yamaha Tech 3 machine. I had some decent time off with the family and spent some days in the Boot Camp. All the guys from the Team came straight after Laguna Seca and we all had a great time, and it is clear that I'm not the only one fast on two wheels in our squad! Looking ahead to this weekend, I've had some decent results at Brno but nothing really great. I've never scored a top six there so I'll be aiming to put that right on Sunday. We've struggled with set-up issues since Sachsenring and nothing has gone fantastic since then. But I'm confident we can make the bike better at Brno and a good result will set us up nicely for the last seven races, starting with another trip home to Indianapolis later this month, which I'm really excited about."
Cal Crutchlow:
"I am looking forward to the second half of the season as some of the tracks that are coming up I know and I've done well on before, including Brno. Almost all the circuits in the first half of the season were new for me and I always had to learn from zero. But that's all part of the learning experience and I'm concentrating solely on getting a good result this weekend and putting the bad luck behind me. The last few races have been quite difficult, but I showed at the start of the season my potential with some strong performances, and that's the form I need to rediscover, starting in Brno this weekend. The track is a good one for me and I've got good memories from last season when I got on the podium and also took pole position in World Superbikes. So it is a track I know I am fast on and I am looking forward to seeing how it feels on a MotoGP bike. I had a good summer break and stayed on in America for a holiday, but now I'm ready to get back working hard with the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team and having a good final part of the season.”
Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team press release
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