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Cal Crutchlow lashes out at MotoGP technology: “I’m old school”

In 2016, Cal Crutchlow secured his first MotoGP victory in Brno – and the LCR team’s first ever. Ten years later, the Briton, standing in for Zarco, was struggling just to finish the race.

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22.06.2026 - 09:17

This article is an automatically generated English version. The original article was published in German.

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The anniversary has a bitter aftertaste: ten years on from his historic victory at Brno, Cal Crutchlow returned to the scene of his greatest triumph as a replacement for the injured Johann Zarco. There was no question of victory this time round; he finished the race 44 seconds behind winner Marc Marquez (Ducati). His assessment was correspondingly matter-of-fact: “It was a long race. I’m glad to have got it over and done with.”

Cal Crutchlow struggles with modern MotoGP technology

The first eight laps were fine, he said, but after that the front tyre overheated and the pressure rose. He added that this situation hadn’t happened to him for five years. At times, he felt comfortable in a small group of Yamaha riders comprising Jack Miller, Alex Rins and Toprak Razgatlioglu, before he dropped back. In the final seven laps, his strength began to wane. His shoulder injury from Mugello made itself felt on the left-hand corners. He rode with the aim of finishing the race, rather than risking another crash like in the Brno sprint.

When asked how riding in the pack had changed compared to five years ago, Crutchlow’s verdict on modern MotoGP technology was clear: “I’m old school; I don’t like all that stuff. I don’t like the gadgets, I don’t like the aerodynamics, I don’t like all the cables all over the bike – those are the things I don’t like. Neither do the mechanics, by the way.”

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Crutchlow described the first few laps in the tight field as a challenge. “We took a closer look at the engine braking; it didn’t seem to be working well for me – because I brake completely differently due to everything that’s happening around you. You wouldn’t believe how much the bike moves when braking, because of the aerodynamics that affect everyone else.” He also described how the bike’s weight felt over the race distance: “The aerodynamics are great for the engineers, but they’re difficult for the riders to manage. At the start, with a full tank, the bike feels like it weighs 158 kilos; towards the end of the race, it feels like a 300-kilo bike.”

Willkommen zum Rennen in Brünn

Foto: Gerhard Schiel

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