MotoGP Cal Crutchlow: “I should think before I speak”

The British driver of the LCR Honda team has always been outspoken, and this has earned him a certain popularity among his fans. On the other hand, some of his partners sometimes felt that he was going a little far in this area and made this clear to him.

“I have always had good public relations results, whether positive or negative, Crutchlow said in an interview with his Isle of Man neighbor, journalist Michael Guy. It’s publicity in the end, and that’s what makes the sponsors happy.”

There were sometimes considerations that were not very diplomatic, which earned Cal more than just professional compliments. And if he could get away with certain comments when he raced in less important categories, it became more delicate in the MotoGP World Championship.

“I have to be more careful in MotoGP with what I say than in other phases of my career, he admitted. I have to be more careful because I have already been penalized several times. At Ducati I received a penalty and there was a warning in 2015 during my first year at LCR-Honda. I said things I shouldn't have said, even if it was the truth ».

Since his first MotoGP Grand Prix in Qatar in 2011, Crutchlow's career has evolved a lot, especially in the last two years. In 2016, he won his first two GPs, at Brno then at Phillip Island. This season, he reached the podium in Argentina, alongside Maverick Vinales and Valentino Rossi, finishing less than a second behind the Italian.

This earned him a factory driver contract with Honda, with an official RC213V within the LCR team for the next two seasons. He also received good attention from his fellow pilots: “ I am accepted by the best, he explained, and I worked for it. I'm the guy from the satellite team who got on the podium with the really big boys and even beat them ».

But this reinforced position within the Honda Racing Corporation also creates some mistrust. According to Cal, “ With Dani Pedrosa, our position relative to each other has changed a little. I have now become a threat to him. He changed his behavior towards me. But it's okay, actually just normal, and I get it. My relationship with the other drivers would also be very different if I was racing against all these guys for the title. »