MISFORTUNE STRIKES CRUTCHLOW AFTER STUNNING RECOVERY IN ARGENTINA

Cal Crutchlow was unfortunate to crash out of eighth place in the Grand Prix of Argentina, after having already made a miraculous recovery from an earlier tumble when he hit a damp patch on the Termas de Rio Hondo track.
The LCR Honda Team had seen their British rider make up several positions following a tricky bunch start to the race, which had been shortened to 20 laps due to a decision taken by Michelin that a mandatory pit-stop was to be made mid-race to ensure rider safety.
Having picked up from his turn one slide, Crutchlow went on to set a pace similar to the leaders in the second half of the race, and made it as high as eighth heading onto the last lap. However, as he touched a white line at turn three his chance of recovering a solid points-scoring finish were dashed.
Cal and the LCR Honda Team will hope for better luck as they move straight to Austin in Texas for the Grand Prix of the Americas, where practice begins on Friday.
#35 Cal Crutchlow - DNF
“Obviously I’m very disappointed for the team today. I tried my best, and after a bad start I made up some places. Then into turn one I got blinded by Lorenzo, hit a wet area and went to the floor. I remounted and got up to a good pace and made up some ground to the riders in front before the bike change.”
“After the mandatory pit-stop I pushed all the way to the finish despite some problems with the front tyre. I felt I rode well and managed to get back with the kind of pace that could have potentially been a podium today. However, I hit a white line on the last lap after passing Bradley Smith for eighth, and went down again.”
“It is disappointing of course, but we can take some positives from the race in that we are able to be competitive and we just need to learn to manage the situation.”
Lucio Cecchinello (LCR Honda Team Principal): “Unfortunately in our sport we have bad Sundays like today. We were really unlucky and we have to look ahead. Cal is a fast rider and if we look at the timesheets, after his first crash he was lapping faster than Dani (Pedrosa) who finished third today.”
“This means that we are competitive enough to stay with the top group. I honestly think that we have the potential to regularly finish in the top five, six or even better, so we will keep working hard to support Cal.”