I interviewed former World Superbike champion Colin Edwards II this morning. This is a transcript of that interview.

Q. What are your feelings on Nick Hayden getting a GP ride with Honda?

A. (long pause) First of all I'm happy for him. He's had it handed to him but he's worked for it ... I don't know.

I'm pissed off about it I guess. That's my initial feeling.

I was really pissed when I first heard about it and since then I guess the way I'm looking at it is that for my whole career things have happened and it's always been for the better. It turned out to be for the better. And even though it may have not looked that way early on, in the end it's always worked out that way in the end.

Q. You sound pretty exasperated.

A. I am.

When this whole thing came to light, I had just gone out and busted my ass to win the eight hour for Honda. The Monday morning following I had a meeting with (Honda execs) Nakagima and Mandicotti. Going in they told me that they needed to have a meeting with me, this was right after the eight hour. They told me that we needed to have a meeting Monday morning; so I was thinking 'Sweet'.

I had no idea (the meeting was going to be) about the team not existing in '03 or any of that stuff.

So, we sat down and they started explaining that Honda has lost a bucket-load of money in Europe and they are going to cut budget and the World Superbike team might not even exist for 2003. So they were sorry to tell me that they could not really offer me anything for 2003.

I was just in disbelief. I was listening to them and trying to understand what they were saying and I said, 'Hold it, do you mean to tell me ...' and they said the team might not be in World Superbike, there's no money and that they need to cut budget.

I said, okay, listen to this: How about we do a new contract for a quarter or half of what I'm making now-I'll take a huge salary cut, which I'd be willing to do, for next year, and in 2004 I get a GP ride on a V5. I told them I wanted to be Valentino's team-mate.

They said, well, you know, you'd need a sponsor, and this and that, and yadda, yadda yadda. Then they say we're actually looking at Fonsi Nieto (to be Rossi's team-mate).

From that point on I was like ... you guys are looking at Fonsi Nieto? Then it's a sponsor deal. Repsol needs a Spanish rider or they'll pull their sponsorship, that's what it's all about.

After I heard that, the first words to myself I said under my breath were like ... 'Get stuffed. This is a joke.'

GP. Why would I want to go there and race with guys-hey some of them are there because they've earned it-but you just look at the f**king field in MotoGP and some of the riders are there solely because of sponsors.

It's a big political game. I don't kiss enough ass, I guess, and I don't like to get my knees dirty, so what chance do I have?

Q. They were able to make some things happen to Hayden that were not sponsor related.

A. Yep. That's the parts that's exasperating about this.

I understand what went on there. The first right of refusal and the offer from Yamaha. But it also seems what they told me wasn't actually the case, that there's one or two people at Honda who can make a decision, with enough pressure from Honda US, that decision was made.

And there he is.

Continued