Qualified in ninth position, Cal Crutchlow's race seems to have been decided on the starting grid. Suffering from a lack of acceleration throughout the weekend, the British driver had no other solution than to brake hard to try to remain competitive. For this, he had opted for a hard front tire, just like Marc Márquez, but because of the delayed start involving a drop in temperature and an increase in humidity, he was forced to use a medium.
The British driver blames this last minute change, if not for the final result of his race which ended in two falls, at least for his lack of competitiveness.
Convinced of being able to finish in the top 5 if he had kept his initial choice, the owner of the LCR team spoke to our colleagues at crash.net.
Cal Crutchlow : » I had to change the front tire on the grid, the same as Marc, and we shouldn't have. We knew that the medium tire at the front was not possible for us, it was way too soft. And we were, so to speak, forced to change it. Because the race was later, they were concerned about dew, blah, blah, blah. But it was definitely the wrong decision for Marc and me, and the decision was made without asking me, which usually doesn't happen to me and is not a good thing.
When I started the race, I started in a good position. I had contact with Valentino, which as you know is the race, I couldn't see him, he couldn't see me. I didn't have the slightest intention of doing so.
But riding behind the other guys was impossible. Because the front tire was too hot. I was a little bit off the line and fell in the last corner. Then I came back out on track and I really shouldn't have because the throttle got stuck wide open. “
A second fall followed, at turn #13.
» The bike just accelerated. I cut the throttle, but saw that the bike wouldn't turn. And that's why, obviously, I grabbed the front brake and had to eject myself. Sorry to my team, but you know me; I have a never give up attitude and I thought I would still be able to finish the race. But the second accident was due to a broken handlebar. I had to eject at f... speed, and it hurt! It didn't look like a small fall. But hey, it's racing. I started the season last year in the same position. But we lost a chance to get a good result today, because of a bad decision on the grid. »
Crutchlow crashed on lap four while behind Scott Redding, battling for tenth place. The LCR driver, however, thought he could fight with the two official Repsol Hondas: “Honestly, I was very confident of being able to achieve a good result, regardless of the circumstances. Even on a completely dry track I would have been in the top five, and in mixed conditions and with a not great track I also thought I would be in the top five again. I felt that if I could have stayed on the bike I would have still finished in the top five. I would have been with Marc, we would have ridden together. The limit was the front tire for us, nothing else. I don't even see my tire choice as a gamble, I'm normally absolutely adamant about what I do, and today that choice was taken away from me. And it was the wrong choice. Then when I wanted to change it, they were already halfway through making the change, so I couldn't go back, because we would never have had enough time. And Marc was also forced to change his.
And I think that would have been the key for me and Marc to be strong in the race. Don't get me wrong, I don't think Honda could have been as competitive as the other manufacturers, but Marc, if he had a better tire, was able to compete. »
