Home livery for Espargaro, Edwards 'excited'

Top Open class rider Aleix Espargaro will have a special home livery during Sunday's Catalunya MotoGP.

The Forward Yamaha rider, seventh in the world championship with a career best fourth place in Qatar, is to use a special bike livery, helmet and leathers for the race.

"Catalunya is really my home GP as I used to live just 3km from the racetrack," said Espargaro. "I remember that from my class at school we could hear the bikes testing on the track, so it's a very familiar and special place for me.

"No need to say that I look forward to get a good result here. I like the track very much, I know every single metre.

"Catalunya has one of the longest main straight in the world and we know that we will struggle a bit in terms of top speed, but I like the long turns and I'm very motivated to do well."

Team-mate Colin Edwards is also excited for the weekend, which will mark his second event on the new FTR chassis.

While Espargaro has dominated the new Open class on the 2013 Yamaha frame, Edwards has struggled to make the bike turn and is eager to continue work on the FTR version after scoring his first point since Qatar at Mugello.

"Barcelona has always been one of my favourite rounds on the GP schedule," said the Texan. "After our first run with the new chassis at Mugello, I'm excited to get back to work. Our main focus will be more on the electronics side, but we will be trying different chassis settings as well. If all goes well, it should be a good weekend."

Edwards will retire at the end of this year, while Yamaha is not expected to continue its Forward chassis supply in 2015.