Crutchlow warning to Bagnaia: Riders have nothing to lose, don’t care who’s who
Quartararo can only retain his MotoGP championship if he wins the Valencia MotoGP, after starting fourth, and Bagnaia, who starts eighth, finishes in P15 or lower.
The end-of-season feel to the race could cause bizarre incidents which could play a part in the tense title battle, Quartararo’s teammate Crutchlow said.
“Fabio could win or not finish the race. Or Bagnaia could not finish,” Crutchlow said.
“It’s that easy at this track. It’s a strange situation, a strange race.
“There are so many riders with nothing to lose who do not care who’s who. That’s great - it’s a positive from a racing standpoint.”
Crutchlow broke down the title battle: “Fabio has long pace. If the race is broken up, he can go across a gap. The positive is that he’s able to do that.
“If it comes down to late race pace, he is one of the strongest.
“If anybody else was riding the Yamaha they wouldn’t be in this position.
“Fabio is a great talent who has made the best of the situation. The bike is not easy to ride.
“The Yamaha used to be the bike which put us on the podium as a satellite team. The tables have turned. It will come back around but when? I don’t know.
“Fabio is riding great, better than the others. If he was on something else, how would he go?
“But that’s not the end. We need to improve the Yamaha for him.”
James was a sports journalist at Sky Sports for a decade covering everything from American sports, to football, to F1.
