Of the three drivers present on the podium of the Grand Prix of Qatar, there was perhaps one who was more delighted than the other two. It is Cal Crutchlow, the third in this tight race. And for good reason. A few months ago, in Australia, he thought he had ended his career by seriously fracturing his ankle in a fall. Then he convalesced, with permanent doubt about his ability to come back and even walk again. The tests then got complicated. And there he is, firmly on his two feet on the third step of a MotoGP podium.
These pilots are definitely extraordinary characters and each has a fabulous story to tell. Cal Crutchlow has a great one with this performance at Losail: “ we worked hard this weekend because the tests were a bit useless, but this weekend was difficult. If you had told me after the warm-up, finished 14th, that I was going to get on the podium, I would have laughed in your face! ».
« I played my cards in the race. I felt good once we started the race. I think Marc and I had a very similar tactic to try to save the rear tire. As Marc said, we had to use a lot of rear end to turn the bike this weekend. When I was behind Dovizioso and Márquez at the start, I felt really comfortable. But then the others passed me and I just thought they were mentally ill! They were crazy, going everywhere and I knew I had to pass them to get a good, smooth pace, because the others around me weren't really riding smoothly at that point. ". With a particular case noted… “ If Joan Mir continues to drive like this every weekend, it won’t last long”…
Moreover, he remembers a skirmish: “ a driver hit my butt with his toe clip and I didn't feel it for fifteen laps! But it's MotoGP. I felt like I had the pace for the podium halfway through the race. So I knew where to push and when to push. And I think that worked to our advantage. But what a fantastic start to the season for everyone. The drivers, the fans and the people watching at home. It seems like every race in MotoGP is always a battle ».
It appears @calcrutchlow had an uncomfortable ride in tonight's #QatarGP!
He still doesn't know the culprit! 🤔 pic.twitter.com/xtdnWNIbr6
- MotoGP @ 🏁 (@MotoGP) March 10, 2019
He ends on crash.net : " To be honest, being able to race and get on the podium is a dream because we didn't know if I was going to be able to come back at any point let alone be competitive. I'm not going to bore everyone with the story, but as everyone knows, I had a broken ankle and they were about to immobilize the ankle. I have a lot of people to thank for being able to walk again, and run ».
The second meeting will take place in Argentina, on a Termas de Rio Hondo track that the Englishman dominated last year.
MotoGP, Qatar J3: classification
| 1 | 4 | Andrea Dovizioso | Ducati | 42'36.902 |
| 2 | 93 | Marc MÁRQUEZ | Honda | +0.023 |
| 3 | 35 | Cal Crutchlow | Honda | +0.320 |
| 4 | 42 | Alex RINS | Suzuki | +0.457 |
| 5 | 46 | Valentino ROSSI | Yamaha | +0.600 |
| 6 | 9 | Danilo PETRUCCI | Ducati | +2.320 |
| 7 | 12 | Maverick VIÑALES | Yamaha | +2.481 |
| 8 | 36 | Joan Mir | Suzuki | +5.088 |
| 9 | 30 | Takaaki NAKAGAMI | Honda | +7.406 |
| 10 | 41 | Aleix ESPARGARÓ | Aprilia | +9.636 |
| 11 | 21 | Frank MORBIDELLI | Yamaha | +9.647 |
| 12 | 44 | Pol ESPARGARÓ | KTM | +12.774 |
| 13 | 99 | Jorge Lorenzo | Honda | +14.307 |
| 14 | 29 | Andrea Iannone | Aprilia | +14.349 |
| 15 | 5 | johann zarco | KTM | +15.093 |
| 16 | 20 | Fabio QUARTARARO | Yamaha | +15.905 |
| 17 | 88 | Miguel OLIVEIRA | KTM | +16.377 |
| 18 | 17 | Karel ABRAHAM | Ducati | +22.972 |
| 19 | 53 | Tito RABAT | Ducati | +23.039 |
| 20 | 55 | Hafiz Syahrin | KTM | +43.242 |
| Not Classified | ||||
| 38 | Bradley SMITH | Aprilia | 2 lapses | |
| 43 | Jack Miller | Ducati | 10 lapses | |
| 63 | Francesco Bagnaia | Ducati | 13 lapses |
