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Zarco’s replacement Crutchlow was frustrated after a battle: “I was too defensive”

LCR Honda’s stand-in rider Cal Crutchlow took his performance to the next level at the Assen event – but once again finished in last place. One thing is clear: the MotoGP returnee’s ambition has long since been reawakened.

MotoGP

28.06.2026 - 08:43

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

Cal Crutchlow vor Yamaha-Tester Augusto Fernandez
© Gold and Goose

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It has only been five weeks since Cal Crutchlow first stepped in as a replacement for the seriously injured Johann, and yet the 40-year-old Englishman is already competing in his fourth race weekend for Lucio Cecchinello’s team. The first two events at Mugello and Lake Balaton were used to familiarise the veteran with the current RC213V. From Brno onwards, following some remarkable improvements, he was set to move further up the field. Crutchlow had got a taste for it and did not rule out shaking up the field from the back of the pack in the near future.

In Assen, the moment had arrived. In qualifying, Crutchlow was just a few hundredths off the pace of the field and a tenth behind regular riders such as Brad Binder. In Q1, Crutchlow – who was also at Assen with his family – lapped the TT Circuit faster than the struggling Superbike World Champion and Yamaha rookie Toprak Razgatlioglu.

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In the 13-lap sprint, however, the Turkish rider was still a cut above, so Crutchlow turned his attention to Yamaha test rider Augusto Fernández. After a solid start, he overtook the 2022 Moto2 World Champion – who is 12 years his junior – on lap . Crutchlow rode a strong race but was caught again in the final stages; the closing attack failed to materialise, which visibly annoyed Zarco’s replacement: “It was nice to be fighting for positions again. Riding with a group, even if not for very long, was an important experience to help me improve further. The battle with Augusto was good for me; he overtook me again on the penultimate lap. I wanted to get him back, but I was far too defensive. I actually knew even before the approach that there would be problems, so I avoided taking the risk.”

Crutchlow, whose face betrays his ambition: “It’s a matter of experience. It’s been years since I’ve raced like this. Brno was six years ago, Assen even seven. Even though I’ve improved a bit, I’m clearly lacking when it comes to quick direction changes. I’m trying to deliver my best, and so far it’s going quite well – the team’s happy, Honda’s happy – but I don’t want to finish last.”

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In the sprint at Assen, Crutchlow was 0.212 seconds off the pace. There’s certainly no question of him trailing behind anymore. For the GP, however, Crutchlow held back on making bold predictions. He’d be delighted by chaotic weather conditions: “I’d love it if it turned into a flag-to-flag race. Then I’d either stay out on the slicks for a long time – or if it goes the other way – then I’d be the first to change tyres!” The prospect isn’t unrealistic. There were heavy thunderstorms during the night leading up to Sunday. Further storms cannot be ruled out on race day.

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