Cal Crutchlow finished seventh in the Dutch Grand Prix at Assen aboard a 2019 Honda from the LCR team which is causing him a lot of problems. A suitable result, but one which satisfies the Englishman. And for good reason: This is his second best result this season after third position in Qatar. Furthermore, it allows him to pass his teammate Nakagami in the championship. Enough to head off towards the Sachsenring with the feeling of duty accomplished...
Cal Crutchlow finished the race just over 18s behind the winner Maverick Vinales and regrets a liability of a little more than 14s on Marc Márquez, equipped more or less with the same machine as him. But after the abandonment following a fall in Catalonia, two weeks earlier, the LCR driver was not choosy: “ we didn't have a bad result compared to how the weekend went here for us » commented the 33-year-old Briton.
« At the halfway mark, I was the fastest man on the track. However, I didn't feel good in the first laps and was overtaken by a few drivers. Later, I was able to pick up my pace. I also made mistakes, I went off the track two or three times. The bike was not good on engine braking ».
Cal Crutchlow reminds us that there is still work to be done: “ we have to work on the weaknesses of the bike. My pace was very good in the middle of the race. Overall it was a positive weekend. We work very well with the team and we managed to be competitive in Assen. We have to work to be fast at the start of the race – and of course at the end ».
He finishes : " now we are looking towards Germany, we always like to go there, hope it will be a great show. There is a huge amount of fans there. The route is quite short and torturous. We will have to try to take advantage of it with our motorcycle ».
« We use the rear a lot to control the bike. I hope we can use it for long curves and sharp turns. It is a narrow and technically difficult track, where you have to drive very precisely. We will do our best to be ready for the race with a good setup from the first tests ».
MotoGP Assen J3: classification
