Cal Crutchlow speaks as fast as he drives. The Briton, at this stage of the season, is already at a crossroads. Essential to Honda in the development of its RC213V, he does not yet have an official contract that he is looking for, just like his current team LCR is keen to keep its status as a satellite of the HRC. Two aspirations which are not so easy to achieve, politically speaking, even if, on the track, it would make sense. So we need results. And in Jerez he was missed, despite a good start from the front row.
Furthermore, Crutchlow don't forget for some time Pedrosa in his comments, declaring himself at his level, or even higher, as if to suggest that he deserves the same official status as him. But in Jerez, the Briton finished with all four irons in the air while the teammate of Márquez taught his teammate a lesson by taking pole position on Saturday and dominating the race on Sunday.
Furthermore, the Englishman is sometimes difficult to follow in his comments, which does not reassure a factory. Ducati was his before he decided to leave and, at Jerez, he made it clear that he spent part of his time testing things for Honda, which meant he was wasting his time tuning his bike. : “ I suffered from the same illness throughout the weekend. As soon as I let off the brakes, the front would close and I would lose it. And that's what caused my downfall. But during this Grand Prix, we didn't have much time to work on this problem because I had to work on other things ».
A criticism? Crutchlow knows how far to go… “ That's not an excuse though. A podium was waiting for me, that's for sure because we then saw that the pace of Lorenzo and Zarco was slow. I fell, I missed a great opportunity through my fault. Dani won because he can use medium rear tires while Marc was obliged like me to take hard ones. Dani did a good job, well done to him. Marc too, he had to manage a delicate situation which was however more serious for the Yamahas ».
Which comes down to talking about tires: “ the lap in which I crashed was strange. Pol Espargaró fell at the same time, Iannone also fell and I saw Zarco recover on the throttle from a desperate situation two laps before. I could already see him on the ground. Our front tire was soft, way too soft. Marc and I were riding on eggshells and the rising temperatures made things worse ».
« We should have even harder tires. But it's like that. This race was strange, but we know that Michelin always has difficulty managing these kinds of track conditions. We tested different tires at Le Mans. I was fine with it. We'll see what they bring us. But even if they provide us with tires like 2016, I think we won't have them racing for a while. ».
The next meeting at Le Mans will begin on May 19. Cal Crutchlow, in four Grands Prix, has one podium, one fourth place and two retirements due to falls. He has 29 points and is tied for seventh with Folger to the general. He is second among independent drivers, behind Johann zarco which has 35 units.
#SpanishGP: MotoGP Ranking
1. Dani Pedrosa ESP Repsol Honda Team (RC213V) 45m 26.827s
2. Marc Marquez ESP Repsol Honda Team (RC213V) 45m 32.963s
3. Jorge Lorenzo ESP Ducati Team (Desmosedici GP17)
45m 41.594s
4. Johann zarco ENG Monster Yamaha Tech 3 (YZR-M1)*
45m 44.428s
5. Andrea Dovizioso ITA Ducati Team (Desmosedici GP17) 45m 49.740s
6. Maverick Vinales ESP Movistar Yamaha MotoGP (YZR-M1) 45m 51.383s
7. Danilo Petrucci ITA Octo Pramac Racing (Desmosedici GP17) 45m 51.786s
8. Jonas Folger GER Monster Yamaha Tech 3 (YZR-M1)*
45m 54.548s
9. Alex Espargaro ESP Factory Aprilia Gresini (RS-GP) 45m 58.060s
10. Valentino Rossi ITA Movistar Yamaha MotoGP (YZR-M1) 46m 5.509s
11. Scott Redding GBR Octo Pramac Racing (Desmosedici GP16) 46m 7.806s
12. Hector Barbera ESP Reale Avintia Racing (Desmosedici GP16) 46m 10.026s
13. Loris Baz FRA Reale Avintia Racing (Desmosedici GP15) 46m 10.038s
14. Bradley Smith GBR Red Bull KTM Factory Racing (RC16) 46m 14.791s
15. Karel Abraham CZE Pull&Bear Aspar Team (Desmosedici GP15) 46m 18.106s
16. Sam Lowes GBR Factory Aprilia Gresini (RS-GP)*
46m 35.712s
17. Takuya Tsuda JPN Team Suzuki Ecstar (GSX-RR)
46m 54.277s
Andrea Iannone ITA Team Suzuki Ecstar (GSX-RR)
DNF
Tito Rabat ESP Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS (RC213V)
DNF
Cal Crutchlow GBR LCR Honda (RC213V) DNF
Jack Miller AUS Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS (RC213V)
DNF
Alvaro Bautista ESP Pull&Bear Aspar Team (Desmosedici GP16) DNF
Espargaro Pol ESP Red Bull KTM Factory Racing (RC16)
DNF
