Excess weight is the enemy of the rider because valuable horsepower is lost moving the excess mass. Cal Crutchlow followed a diet this winter, and cycled a lot, to lose 6,5 kg. But for his team leader Christophe Bourguignon, the advantage thus acquired is at least as much psychological as technical.
The 32-year-old British rider found it useful to cycle 7 km in order to get fit on his Honda RC000V, now supplied by the factory, and identical to those of Marc Marquez and Dani Pedrosa.
Christophe Bourguignon and the LCR team discovered Crutchlow thinned out at Sepang. "We didn't know it until we saw it », declared the Belgian technician. “ I think he controls how he trains in the winter. No one told him what to do. It's just his own habit.
“We didn’t hear from him all winter. He was training in California. I think that's probably a good motivation for him. He used that as motivation because it's really hard to do it in the winter. He is a well-prepared runner. »
In Thailand, Crutchlow admitted that he doesn't feel much difference on the bike with his reduced weight, and Bourguignon believes that while the gains are minimal for a lighter rider, the mental aspect of physical preparation is more important.
“Looking at the data, we can't see any difference ", he said. “It’s really close. I don't think you can say that's what makes the difference, but if you do the math, you'll see that in 30 laps you'll gain a certain number of tenths over a race distance.
“It can't be worse, only better. When you have a lightweight runner, it probably means they're in good physical condition, they're feeling good, and they're ready to race. He seems to be really relaxed and confident about how he has prepared this winter.
“You know, we're trying to put weight on the bike all winter long. We use this, this and this, because it's a little lighter. We use the Öhlins carbon forks because they are lighter and obviously with him losing weight, as well as the whole package, it makes a difference. »
Bourguignon was cautious before making bold predictions. Still, he believes that, given Crutchlow's pace in the two tests carried out to date, he has a good chance of showing similarities to his performances in the second half of 2016 - the Englishman's best season in the category queen.
“We are obviously here for that, said Bourguignon, we know we all need a good new year, but there's no pressure. Zero pressure, and we prepare no differently than other years. We're just trying to be the same as we have been.
“If we just thought we had to work harder because we have a better bike, that would mean we didn't work hard enough in previous years.
" It's early. I do not want to say anything. I'm sure others have something up their sleeves. We will need to continue to work hard to ensure we can catch up to those ahead of us.
“When you see the recent pace, there's a good chance to have some good runs with Cal. We will take advantage of the opportunity to make this happen. »
Photos © LCR
Source: crash.net
