The winless ‘Texas Tornado’: Colin Edwards was never meant to win

As a two-time Superbike World Champion and three-time winner of the Suzuka 8 Hours, Colin Edwards is regarded as one of the most entertaining characters the MotoGP paddock has ever seen. However, the ‘Texas Tornado’ – who was later dubbed a ‘breeze’ by his rivals – failed to secure a victory. Twenty years on from the most bitter moment of his career, it is time to look back on the American’s career.

Yamaha boss Lin Jarvis on Edwards: “We don’t expect you to win”

Colin Edwards made his MotoGP debut in 2003 as a two-time Superbike World Champion. After a disappointing spell on the Aprilia RS Cube, he spent a year with Gresini, during which he began to turn heads. When he moved to the Yamaha works team alongside Valentino Rossi in 2005, he was already 31 years old. Edwards recalled the division of roles at the time, which team boss Lin Jarvis outlined when the contract was signed: “We don’t expect you to win. We’ve got our star rider – that’s Valentino. We need harmony in the paddock. You and he are friends, and you’ll take on a supporting role,” Jarvis is reported to have said at the time, according to Edwards.

The American accepted the terms. “I was paid a lot of money to do what they wanted me to do. I was 100 per cent happy with that,” he said in retrospect. Nevertheless, he admitted that the mental aspect took its toll. “If they hadn’t put that stuff into my head, I would have performed better,” he is certain. But he also admitted: “I was at my peak at the age of 28. When I joined MotoGP, I was already 31. I think I was past my peak.”

Assen 2006: Colin Edwards im Kampf mit Nicky Hayden

Foto: Gold & Goose

Fateful day at Assen: his victory was 90 per cent certain

On 24 June 2006, Edwards came closest to victory in MotoGP. He led from the first to the penultimate lap; only Nicky Hayden (Honda) could keep up with the Yamaha rider’s pace. With two laps to go, the ‘Kentucky Kid’ forced the Texan onto the run-off area as he attacked into the final chicane, leaving Edwards a second behind. Edwards gritted his teeth and overtook Hayden. Then, just a few metres from the finish line, he ran onto the grass, his rear wheel skidded out and the Yamaha threw him off.

Topic of the week

The 2027 Formula 1 grid: Will the transfer bombshell only drop in the autumn?

Summertime, holiday season, the silly season: these are the weeks when the most outrageous driver changes are usually discussed. The big news for the 2027 season is yet to materialise.

Read more

TV program

Today

Silverstone: Qualifying MotoGP

MotoGP World Championship

08.08.2026 - 12:40

Hayden cut across the gravel trap, returned to the tarmac and won the race. Edwards limped home in thirteenth place. “What can I say? I know I should have won that race,” he sighed, looking back. “I should have won at Assen in 2006 and in Qatar in 2004. But you have to take it all as it comes.”

The years after the Yamaha works team – a quiet end to his career

The second chance he’d hoped for never came. After his time with the factory team, Edwards moved to the Tech3 team in 2008, where he rode until 2011 – and was, through no fault of his own, involved in the fatal accident involving Marco Simoncelli in Malaysia, which shook the entire paddock. He spent his final years on CRT bikes before ending his career in Indianapolis in 2014 at the age of 40.

Twelve MotoGP podium finishes in eleven years – not a single victory. Does he have any regrets? “It was a hell of a ride,” he said. That doesn’t sound like regret.