Cal Crutchlow: ‘I had to take risks’

Cal Crutchlow could not convert his second career MotoGP pole position into a fifth podium of 2013 after the British rider tumbled out of a battle for fourth in Brno on Sunday.

The Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team rider was trying to pull away from Gresini Honda rider Alvaro Bautista and nine-times world champion Valentino Rossi when he crashed out of fourth on lap eight.

The 27-year-old did managed to rejoin the 22-lap race in dead last and he forced his way back into 17th to miss out on a points scoring finish for the second time this season.

Crutchlow, who became the first British rider to score more than one pole position in a season since Barry Sheene in 1979, said: “I am not too bothered for the world championship now, so I had to take some risks and crashed.

“It is one of those things. I had just done my best lap and best couple of sectors when I crashed. I lost some time to the Hondas and (Jorge) Lorenzo in the first couple of laps but I was being cautious.

“When Alvaro came past he lost us one second in a lap and as always he slows the pace down. When I got back by him I did a couple of fast laps and was pulling away from Alvaro and Valentino and I lost the front.

“I was pushing because I’ve got nothing to lose and I needed to catch the guys up front and break the guys behind. I was pushing a bit too much and it was completely my own fault. I tried my hardest and I just lost grip in one corner but I got back up and managed to finish the race but just not in the points.”

Despite riding with a damaged handlebar after the Turn 11 spill, Crutchlow’s pace would have almost certainly secured him the fourth place he held when he crashed unhurt and he said: “My pace afterwards even with a bent handlebar wasn’t so bad.

“What pleased me this weekend is I had a good pace at the end of the race even with the bike damaged. I stayed consistent at low 57s through some traffic.”

For more from Crutchlow, including an exclusive interview on his thoughts heading to this weekend’s British Grand Prix, see the August 28 issue of MCN.