No one makes the MotoGP media center come alive with emotion more so than Colin Edwards. A veteran of the sport, and born with no filter between his brain and mouth, the Texan Tornado captured the spotlight during the pre-race press conference at the Red Bull Indianapolis GP. A stark contrast to the polished veneers of other riders, Edwards isn’t afraid to tell things the way he sees it, even if it involves some colorful language. To get an idea of what we mean, check out a portion of the press conference transcript after the jump.
MODERATOR: Come to the far end, ladies and gentlemen, of course, Ben’s teammate, Colin Edwards. Colin, 130th Grand Prix appearance. It’s been some run some run, hasn’t it?
COLIN EDWARDS: It has. Can I just say something real quick for future reference? Earlier when you said 10th in the championship, that’s like a dagger in the heart. So let’s just leave that .... out next time, OK? If it weren’t for these ........ being so fast, I might be a little bit higher up in the championship. (Laughter)
No, 130 races. Oh, man, I’m getting old, aren’t I?
HAYDEN: He’s a professional. He should be able to put a better spin on it than that. (Laughter)
EDWARDS: Yeah. No, it definitely, 130 races, yeah, it’s been something special. It’s been some of the best times of my life. It’s been awesome.
MODERATOR: Tough year for you this year.
EDWARDS: Oh, you think? Is that just being honest? (Laughter)
MODERATOR: I’m being honest. You’ve had a tough old time out there.
EDWARDS: Yeah, it’s been very difficult. We obviously finished fifth in the championship last year and came here kind of on a high thinking everything would be cool. This dumb-... six engines per year rule, I don’t know what they have there, but we’ve suffered. We’ve obviously suffered. We got a little bit something extra at Laguna, not necessarily engine or whatever, but we developed a little bit of a faster bike overnight and it seems to be working. Our two best results were Laguna and Brno and we’re just looking to build on that.
MODERATOR: And the future, do you want to stay in MotoGP?
EDWARDS: I’m going fishing. Screw this .....
MODERATOR: You’re beginning to sound more like Kenny Roberts every day. (Laughter)
EDWARDS: No, I would love to stay with Herve. I’d love to stay with Yamaha. That’s my No. 1 goal at the moment. We just need to try and make it happen.
MODERATOR: So an important second part of the season for both of you.
EDWARDS: Yeah, I think there are a couple chips that need to fall in the right place and I think it can happen, it’s just a matter of — is it a full moon yet? I don’t know. Anyways, we just need to see what happens.
MODERATOR: I think I speak for everybody, we hope it happens. We don’t want to lose you from the MotoGP.
Finally, I remember a couple years ago when you first came to Indy, you said what a special place to come and actually race here, just so fantastic.
EDWARDS: I have so many memories here. You all probably heard the story, it was ‘85 or ‘86 when Danny Sullivan did the 360 and still won the race. My dad was drunk on the bed, and I was a little kid. I just remember my dad being drunk, “God damn, did you see that?” I’m like, “Dad, that’s the 10th time you said that. I saw it already.” (Laughter)
But I have some memories of this place, most of them televised that I was watching. And to be here and to be parked in the same Paddock in the motor homes and just being in this area, it’s something special. They’ve done a great job with it, you know, to build a motorcycle track here, it’s a good job.
MODERATOR: Colin, many thanks. Congratulations on 130. Thank you.
