Crutchlow happy with fourth

Cal Crutchlow was pleased with fourth fastest today at Le Mans and while the pace of Marc Marquez, Jorge Lorenzo and Andrea Dovizioso seems to be out of reach for him this weekend he could still end up in the thick of things tomorrow. Crutchlow, who tried a new swingarm this afternoon, was pleased with his performance but felt that a mistake in qualifying may have cost him a shot of the front row.

“I’m happy,” said Crutchlow after the session. “Obviously Marc’s got a big advantage, but he’s got a big advantage on everyone. I felt we should have been a little bit closer, but that’s the way it is. I wasn’t, I was fourth. I still haven’t had a front row this year, so I’m a little bit disappointed with not being on the front row, but I think we’re in good shape.

“I braked a little bit early in one of the corners where the lap previously, I had braked perfectly for it, and that would have been the difference between the second position and fourth, but that’s the way it is. I don’t like this circuit, I don’t like riding here particularly at all, so to be fourth and my fastest lap ever around Le Mans, it can’t be too bad.”

Having struggled with edge grip on the Honda the tricky conditions made it impossible for him to make any progress with finding a solution however Crutchlow admitted that making it perfect is something that may not be possible given the nature of the Honda. Having finished on the podium at Jerez and had two fourth place finishes Crutchlow has had a solid start to the campaign as he learns the Honda RC213v.