Zoom Colin Edwards

The Tech 3 Yamaha team returned to the top ten in scorching hot conditions in Misano today, with Colin Edwards fourth fastest on the opening day of free practice.

And boosted by improvements with the performance of Michelin's tyres, British team-mate James Toseland was tenth quickest after logging fast and consistent times throughout the opening day.

Looking to strengthen his bid for fourth place in the championship in the final third of the season, Edwards made a brilliant start this morning when he clocked the second fastest time. Edwards lapped within 0.002s of reigning world champion Casey Stoner, and his best time of 1.35.424 secured him fourth overall, as further tests on his Yamaha YZR-M1 race settings this afternoon failed to see an improvement in his lap time.

“I was really fired up this morning and it all felt pretty natural and the bike felt good. The tyres seemed to work great for ten laps but when I went out on them again to check the endurance this afternoon it didn't feel as good. Maybe it was the temperature because it was a bit hotter this afternoon but I went out thinking it would be the same as this morning. I felt like I was riding well, but the pace just wasn't there as it had been this morning”, he explained. “I rode my second bike this afternoon and while they are always supposed to be the same, it is always different in some small way and it felt more rigid than this morning with the chassis. So I don't know if that also might have contributed to the times just not being as fast. I need to back-to-back the bikes tomorrow and see which one I am going to race because I've also got some small issues with wear on the rear tyre and it is similar to Brno. I've never really seen a wear pattern like that before so I'll sit down with Michelin and my guys tonight and see if we can figure something out. We have still got some work to do but I feel more confident that at the last few races and I'll looking to get that challenge for fourth in the championship back on track.”

Toseland capitalised on the improvements made by Michelin as he ended the day with a best lap of 1.36.105. He's confident of further improvements tomorrow having completed his 23-laps in this afternoon's session on the same set of Michelin tyres, gaining valuable endurance information ahead of Sunday's 28-lap race.