Cal Crutchlow mystified by crash

Cal Crutchlow was at a loss to explain a slow speed crash as he faced big name MotoGP rivals Valentino Rossi, Casey Stoner and Jorge Lorenzo for the first time in Valencia today.

The former World Supersport champion lost the front of his Monster Yamaha Tech 3 YZR-M1 machine at the left-hander that leads onto the back straight at the Ricardo Tormo track.

The Coventry rider bounced back superbly to register a best time of 1.34.314 that was only 0.8s behind experienced team-mate Colin Edwards. 

The British rider was also faster than veteran Italian Loris Capirossi, new Moto2 world champion Toni Elias and fellow premier class rookie Karel Abraham.

Crutchlow told MCN: “I’m sure what happened with the crash. I had a slower speed and less brake pressure but I still went down. It was really windy out there and hitting you from all angles and I think that must have caught me. I spoke to Colin and he said he nearly crashed a the same point.”

Crutchlow was inside of a second of every rider up to seventh position but he admitted his first dry ride on the YZR-M1 had been a big eye opener.

“There is just so much to learn and everything you do on a production bike, you have to do the complete opposite on the MotoGP bike. It is a really steep learning curve but I’m happy with my performance and the team is too. I was losing one second in just three corners where I didn’t have confidence with the right side of the tyre.”