If Cal Crutchlow is to retain his title as the highest placed Independent Team rider in the MotoGP, then he will certainly have his work cut out from the start if the results from the final IRTA MotoGP test of the season are anything to go by.
Normally contending as one of the lead Hondas, the British rider had to settle for eighth overall as his results fluctuated over the three days. He ended up placed as the fourth quickest independent team rider; however things might well be different come the opening race of the season.
Great result despite difficult first day for the LCR Honda team
On the opening day on the floodlit track, Crutchlow finished the first session in a fantastic third position; his time of 1:55.420 on his last lap of 28 on the day leaving him as the highest placed Honda rider and independent team rider. He was well placed considering he experienced some ‘mechanical gremlins’ which prevented him from completing as many laps as he probably would have liked.
Weather and a crash hindered day two for Crutchlow
The weather spoiled proceedings slight on the second day forcing many to retreat back to the pits until it passed. Still, he was able to make up for lost time the day before, by completing 46 laps. It was a tough end to the second session as experienced a small crash at the final corner; fortunately he was unhurt. Despite the crash however, he still managed to place high, finishing fourth once again as the top Honda rider.
On the 43rd lap out of the 46, he lapped at 1:55.032. Just outside the 1:55 minute barrier that three other riders managed to surpass. He was still able to reduce his own fastest time from the previous day by 0.388 seconds. The 2016 MotoGP champion, Marc Marquez on the factory Repsol Honda, was the closest to him in sixth; his fastest lap was 0.164 seconds slower than the Brit.
Crutchlow’s views on the opening days
He felt that the second day was “not a bad day” and that they were left feeling “happy enough” with what they achieved. He mentioned how they again, like on day one, “lost some time with a technical problem”, still, he was “very happy with how the team and Honda work to try to fix it again”, which allowed him to still go out and “do some laps with one of the bikes”.
He spoke of how they “tried some small settings” with which they “found some positives and negatives”. He also mentioned how he “tried to use the soft tyre at the end of the session”, but this was partly what led to the crash for the Brit. He explained what happened saying he was “pushing too hard” and he admitted it was “completely [his] mistake”. Still, he was “happy with the lap time on the medium tyre”.
Crutchlow laps under 1:55 minutes
The third and final day saw Crutchlow make further improvements on his fastest lap time, finally breaking through the 1:55 minute barrier, and reducing his time by a further 0.211 seconds. Despite the improvement, and not for the lack of trying as he completed 70 laps during the final session, he fell a few places on the leaderboard finishing eighth overall.
His final time of 1:54.821, set on lap 64, was less than half a second than the fastest man of the test, Maverick Vinales who has made the switch to Movistar Yamaha. Still, the lap times were not necessarily a real indication of how things will turn out come the end of the opening round of the 2017 season at the Losail International Circuit under the floodlights, as the top 12 riders were covered by less than one second; in fact the top 18 were covered by less than 1.3 seconds.
Crutchlow happy despite mistakes on final day
Content with his achievements, Crutchlow felt the final day of IRTA testing was “positive” and he was left feeling “happy with what [they] managed to get through”. He again complimented the team and their efforts saying how they “worked well as a team” and managed to complete “the plan [they] had set”. Speaking about the 16 lap long run he completed, he admitted that he “made a small mistake with the buttons on the handlebar” but still he ended it feeling “quite happy overall”.
Referring to his lap time though, he thought that was “not very good” and explained how he “pushed for a lap time on the final lap but crashed” as he confirmed they “had a malfunction with a part that [they] think was damaged yesterday”. He reassured himself however saying, “This is racing and now we look forward to the first round which is very close and hopefully all the fans do too.”