Crutchlow disappointed: “Not the British GP I’d been hoping for”

With Cal Crutchlow on the grid, there was finally a home favourite back in action at last weekend’s British Grand Prix. The 40-year-old Briton once again stepped in at Silverstone for the injured LCR Honda rider Johann Zarco. The race weekend in his home country began for Crutchlow on Thursday with a press conference in London. There, alongside Pedro Acosta, Marco Bezzecchi, Diogo Moreira and Ai Ogura, he made an appearance in front of the fans and answered questions from the media.

In sporting terms, however, the MotoGP event on the British Isles proved disappointing for Crutchlow. Although he managed to finish ahead of Viñales’s replacement, Pol Espargaró (KTM), as well as the two Yamaha riders Toprak Razgatlioglu and Augusto Fernández in Friday’s free practice and Saturday’s qualifying, the races turned into a disaster for the veteran rider. In the Sprint race, Crutchlow crashed on lap 1 in the fourth corner. Although he rejoined the race, he headed for the pits after three laps. In Sunday’s Grand Prix, whilst running in 17th place on lap 7, he rode his RC213V into the gravel trap.

Willkommen zum Rennen in Silverstone

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Marco Bezzecchi

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Fans

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Raúl Fernández

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Jorge Martin

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Start des Rennens

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Start des Rennens

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Alex Márquez und Pedro Acosta

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Jorge Martin

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Luca Marini

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Marc und Alex Márquez

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Raúl Fernández

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Pecco Bagnaia

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Marco Bezzecchi

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Marc Márquez und Fabio Di Giannantonio

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Moreira und Quartararo

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Raúl Fernández gewinnt das Rennen

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Silverstone-Sieger Raúl Fernández

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Martin, Fernández, Bezzecchi

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Sieger Raúl Fernández

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Willkommen zum Rennen in Silverstone

© Gold & Goose

“I’m very disappointed. It wasn’t the British Grand Prix I’d hoped for – for me, the team and the people who were there. But I gave it my best,” was Crutchlow’s summary. “I was competitive and fast throughout the weekend. On Saturday, there was contact with another rider and I crashed. On Sunday, it was the front tyre. I got off to a bad start and got stuck behind other riders. I then caught up with Toprak and the group in front of me – I had the pace. Then I made a mistake under braking. It’s very disappointing, but I’ve made good progress this weekend. I wasn’t able to finish the races, but I’m leaving here with good memories. I think I did a good job leading up to the races.”

Cal Crutchlow

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Cal Crutchlow: “Perhaps not the best decision”

Crutchlow didn’t have a good feel for the front tyre during the Grand Prix. “I expected it to be difficult. One of the reasons I didn’t have a good feel for the front tyre was that I was trying to look after the rear tyre – which meant I was putting more strain on the front tyre,” explained the Honda rider. “When I was behind the other riders and riding hard on the front tyre, that was perhaps not the best decision. I’d already struggled with front tyre pressure in other races this year, and it was the same this time. But as I said: I’m very disappointed, but I can take a lot of positives away from this weekend.”

Speaking of tyre management: “The Aprilias were the only ones that didn’t have any tyre problems all weekend,” said Crutchlow, impressed by the Italian manufacturer and the RS-GP riders.