Before his second place won in fine style at the German Grand Prix, Cal Crutchlow's halo was not far from burning. Within an LCR team whose resources require the monoculture of a Honda, he is at the top of a classification that is hardly popular in the MotoGP championship: that of crashes. The Briton has 14 at this mid-season, one more than Jack Miller who won at Assen. However, he is in Honda's good books. So much so that he practically has the same machine as that of the HRC officials.
A point on which he was keen to emphasize upon returning from Red Bull Ring tests where he was the spearhead of the winged coat of arms, since so much Márquez de Pedrosa had not been invited to the meeting between MotoGP teams for this preliminary test gallop for the Austrian Grand Prix which will, from August 12, be the start of the school year.
Public chat speedweek, his seduction operation is frank: “ we work closely with Honda. I went to Malaysia to test tires and electronic developments for them. They listen to us. I am very happy to have their attention like Marc and Dani. We participate in the evolution of the motorcycle. As for the team, it very quickly benefits from the latest developments that the official drivers have ».
As a result, he considers himself at the same technical level as the factory duo: “ there are no big differences between the LCR bike and the HRC bike. Just little things. If Marc got on my bike, he would be able to win. It's clear. People think you have to have a factory bike to win. But this is not the case ". A relevant theory verified by a Jack Miller, private driver Marc VDS, and winner at Assen. Certainly in special circumstances.
We will recall that Crutchlow, currently fourteenth in the championship with 40 points, was also a Tech3 rider whose Yamahas are as close as those of the official Iwata structure. A team that he left to become a Ducati official, a status that he renounced after only one season to join the LCR team which will be able to enjoy the 24rd place on the starting grid as soon as he has the means to field a second motorcycle. For a time, we saw the troops of Lucio Cecchinello move towards two Suzukis. But the Honda cause remains the priority.
