Cal Crutchlow: Braking the Honda

With podiums for three different MotoGP manufacturers in three seasons, Cal Crutchlow is used to identifying and adapting to the strengths of each machine.

For this year's move to LCR Honda one of the biggest changes has been in braking, with the Englishman changing his technique to get the most out of the RC213V.

"I always braked weak," said Crutchlow, speaking in the Le Mans paddock on Thursday. "I was always quite a weak braker, similar to Jorge. Jorge brakes really soft, and he likes to throw the bike into the corner, release the brake and carry the corner speed.

"With the Honda you cannot do this. You have to brake as late as possible, and more be able to push the bike into the corner. But this is the Honda style and the way you have to ride the bike.

"So I'm just taking advantage of the good points of the bike. But Marc takes more advantage than me, because he understands the bike more."

Crutchlow continued: "Marc is stronger than me in the braking. But I think [my] brake point is really similar with Marc. So the position of the braking is really similar. But the way Marc manages to stop is a little better than me in some areas.

"It's skill [not the electronics] because he brakes with the rear brake so much. I do as well, but not like him. It would probably be Marc, Dovizioso, me with who uses the rear brake most. But Marc uses like you cannot believe.

"I also use the rear brake in a different place to the other guys. I use a lot more into the corner. They use it a lot more in the first and middle part of the braking."

Crutchlow agreed that finding more rear grip is the main priority for the Honda riders, adding: "It's more on the side of the bike. Because on the exit [with the bike upright] sometimes it's not too bad, it depends on the circuit.

"But I think our competitors have more rear grip, without a shadow of a doubt. Honda know that, I'm not telling them something they don't know. But clearly our bike is better on the corner entry. So we have an advantage and we don't want to lose it.

"But you're always going to have that. Yamaha and Ducati will be doing the same thing, they've got an advantage in one area, but they've not got an advantage in another."

Crutchlow began the year a step behind the factory Repsol Honda riders in terms of his chassis, then received an upgrade at round two in Austin.

"It's more consistent with regards to making mistakes, it's more consistent in a race situation," he said of the revised version now also available to Scott Redding at Mac VDS. "I don't think it's any faster. I don't think you improve the lap time with it at all. I think that you make less mistakes, and you have a little less risk to make a mistake."

Why is there less risk with the new chassis?

"We had a lot of corner entry problems with the other one. If you have the corner entry problems and you slide, you got to a point where you hit the lock stop [on the steering], or you slide and go straight. Where now [with the new chassis] you'll slide and normally make the corner.

"So I just mean less risk as in you've got less risk to run off the track, less risk to make a mistake: You will normally make the corner a lot more with this chassis. But the problem is that it just encourages you to brake later, because you think you can make it. But that's the thing with the Honda, that's where you have to take advantage with the braking.

"And the risk as such into the corner is the strong point of the bike. It feels like there's an endless limit into the corner. But there's only so late you can brake. Not without losing the front, but without going straight at least."

Crutchlow, who will not be using the experimental swing-arm evaluated at the recent Jerez test, starts the French MotoGP weekend sixth in the world championship and as the top satellite rider.

"I'm excited for the weekend, it's a good track for Honda," he said. "If you look what Marc did last year and also Bautista, but this race is a close race, there's so many people on the same lap time or a similar lap time. You see there were eight guys quite close at the start of the race here last year. So I expect it to be a big battle. But also, I expect some guys that haven't been up there in previous races to be competitive here.

"I expect all six factory guys, but I expect another four satellite guys to be able to be competitive. But I also expect a 'wild-card', somebody you don't think is ever going to be there, to make a good race in Le Mans. It's just one of those circuits, where if you take some risks, if you get away with the group you can stay there. I think it's going to be close this weekend."

It's also getting close at the top of the 2015 world championship standings, with Valentino Rossi (Yamaha), Marc Marquez (Honda) and Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha) having all won during the opening four rounds and Andrea Dovizioso second in the standings on the impressive new Ducati.

"It's amazing that four different motorcycle manufacturers go round the track at the same speed, to be honest," Crutchlow said. "Four different riders, four different conditions, four different riders' weights and they all manage to get round within that much of a second.

"I think this year it's closer than ever, I think that the manufacturers and Carmelo [Ezpeleta] have done a good job of making the championship close, and hopefully, it'll be even closer next year, with the rules and everything.

"Over the past three years, you've seen the championship grow and grow and grow, with competitiveness. Sure, Marc won ten races in a row last year, but that was Marc. You can't stop a guy from winning, but the rest of the field were battling a lot, there was lot of action, and this year it's even better, with how many race winners there's been.

"It's just going to be mayhem for the rest of the year!"