The LCR Honda team once again recorded a strong performance this Sunday at the Aragón Grand Prix as Cal Crutchlow fought hard to take fifth position and finish as first satellite rider for the fifth time in the six previous tests.
After starting from fifth position on the grid, the 30-year-old Briton spared no effort after the start as he made the decision to dive straight into the first corner before being forced to to widen in the second curve. While he had therefore slightly lost contact with the leading men and it took him a few laps before his tires reached their ideal operating temperature, he then gradually closed his gap on the leaders, doubling thus Andrea Dovizioso on the ninth lap before also getting the better of Aleix Espargaró two laps later.
The Coventry native was then able to link up with Honda factory rider Dani Pedrosa. The two men engaged in a great battle before the representative of the LCR Honda team managed to overtake the Spaniard on the nineteenth lap. The Briton will then no longer have been worried before crossing the finish line and acquiring his fourth Top 5 at the end of the last six Grands Prix.
This performance allows him to occupy sixth position in the provisional ranking of the MotoGP World Championship and the place of first satellite rider with 105 points. There are still four events left on the calendar and the next round will be the Japanese Grand Prix which will take place at the Motegi circuit in three weeks.
Cal Crutchlow #35 – 5rd
“I had some difficulties at the start getting my tires up to temperature. This was a recurring problem throughout the weekend, with some hard tires giving their maximum performance immediately and others not. I then managed to join Dani, Dovi and Aleix but with the speed of our bike we had no chance. I really did everything possible to be able to fight with them in the first laps and overtake them but Dani had much better acceleration than me on the exits of the corners and I couldn't maintain the same pace. So I had to wait a good number of laps before getting the better of him and I felt at the end of the race that I had a similar pace to that of the drivers ahead of me but it was unfortunately too late.”
“The LCR Honda team really did a remarkable job over three days and I really thought I could get on the front row yesterday but I made a mistake. I had the feeling today that I had the possibility of fighting for a place on the podium but I was not able to grab the right pack in the very first laps of the race. In MotoGP, the sanction is immediate when you are not at the front from the first moments and it is then really complicated to get back into contact with the leaders.”
“Despite everything, it was a race during which I had fun and we are satisfied because finishing a MotoGP event in Aragón in the Top 5 is not negligible but I would obviously have preferred to get on the podium!”
Ranking in the 2016 MotoGP world championship: 6rd / 105 points
