Valentino Rossi and Colin Edwards are linked by a strong friendship and they were team-mates in Factory Yamaha Team from 2005 to 2007, before the Texas rider was moved to Tech 3. Even before, they were team-mates at Suzuka 8 Hours, where they raced on a factory Honda VTR1000SPW. The second time they did it, in 2001, they won.
MOMENTS – Unintentionally, they were both involved in Marco Simoncelli’s fatal accident at Sepang. “The worst moment of my career”, said Edwards some years ago. “That night we supported each other through an exchange of messages and we tried to understand whether it was his fault or mine. Well, it was an accident”. Together they shared nice days at VR46 Ranch and Colin’s Boot Camp in 2015 and they’ve been good friends for many years.
WHO INTERVIEWED ROSSI – Austin GP represented for the two riders a new opportunity to do something together, but in this case Valentino Rossi was face-to-face with Hayes Edwards, Colin’s son, who played the role of the journalist to interview the nine times World Champion. Together they talked about the start of his career, some anecdotes about their respective fathers, doubts concerning private and public life… “I was in Tavullia with my dad, Graziano, and there I rode a bike for the first time”, told Valentino to Hayes. This is what Rossi said about “The Doctor”, his nickname: “In Italy they call you ‘doctor’ when you do something great, serious and high-level. It’s funny.”
VALE & COLIN – Why n. 46? “I chose it because in 1979, when I was born, my dad raced in 250cc with that number”. About his life with Colin Edwards, Rossi remembers some special moments. “It was fantastic to race with Colin. Our careers intersected many times, but the one I consider the most special is Suzuka. I didn’t know Colin, since he was racing in Superbike, but since that moment we’ve been good friends. At Suzuka he helped me a lot”.
LEGEND – During Austin GP Colin Edwards performed one lap with the electric Moto-E, before going back to his job as reporter for BT Sport. Also Colin praised Valentino more than once: “He’ll be always in the front. He could ride a MotoGP for ten more years, if he wanted. He’s eternal, he can still win”.