Cal Crutchlow experienced a Malaysian Grand Prix that was turbulent and trying to say the least if we are to believe his story from up close to the action. But he didn't make the trip for nothing. Hero of a FP2 that his local boss Razlan Razali appreciated since Malaysian, the Englishman secured twelfth place out of 19 classified, which is his best result since his retirement as a full-time MotoGP rider, then his signing as a Yamaha test rider at the end of 2020. RNF team manager Wilco Zeelenberg declared: “ Cal had a great race. Also looking at the guys who finished behind us, it's very impressive what he's doing, coming out of retirement and finishing regularly in the points. Hats off to him ". And the performance is all the more valuable because he really went for it. Here is his story at Sepang.
And this epic begins as it should with the departure… “ It was absolutely madness there ", said Crutchlow on crash.net. " But fun, because we were in a great battle. The cameras should have been on us because I don't know how many wings came off and stuff like that, but there were ten of us going completely crazy together ". He specifies : " I had a very good start but in turn 2 I almost crashed and lost the rear. I lost a few positions but managed to stay on the track. I was OK ».
« Then Darryn Binder came out of nowhere and was riding like a wild man! He was in a great position, so he rode well. The problem was that the pack was starting to separate. He was at the head of our group and lost the group in front of him, but we had very good riders behind us, Aleix, Zarco, Jack… We all lost at least 8 to 10 seconds riding like idiots! I lost four places in one lap! At one point. I thought 'f**k off and leave me alone!' Let me ride happy instead of getting blasted with gumballs ", said Crutchlow, referring to the debris expelled from the rear wheels of MotoGP, a phenomenon which Jack Miller said to have also been the victim… “ Honestly, when these bikes throw balls at you at nearly 300 km/h, they hurt! »Assures Crutchlow.
Cal Crutchlow: “ between the splashes of gumballs and the heat, the conditions were almost inhumane on the bike«
He adds : "I was thinking, 'why don't I ride in the back alone and wave to the crowd', but competitiveness gets the better of me. It was actually a lot of fun, but we slowed down because we were out of control. I was happy at the end because I came back and passed Oliveira and Maverick in the last two laps and then I did a blocking tactic in the last lap ».
But there was also this… “ My body temperature was well above 40 degrees throughout the race. In no other sport does your body temperature rise above 40 degrees for so long and quickly because you are wearing a leather suit and you are sitting on a motorcycle that sends heat to you from your own engine and also the heat that comes out of the exhaust of other motorcycles. Combined with high outside temperatures, this creates almost inhumane conditions on the motorcycle ».
He finishes : " in other sports there is a thermal protocol, here we are irradiated by 1.000 degrees of hot air. It is so hot. I don't know how anyone else can still be sitting in their leather suit two hours after the race. Here you are already over 40 degrees after the first turn and you are supposed to do 20 laps? It's incredible ».
Cal Crutchlow has scored ten points in five races so far, putting him two points behind teammate rookie Darryn binder, which fell in Malaysia, and five behind Andrea Dovizioso, to whom Yamaha RNF was allocated before it was reassigned to the Briton when the Italian decided to leave the paddock at Misano.
MotoGP Malaysia J3: ranking
Credit classification motogp.com
