‘Speed is there’ for Friday pace-setter Crutchlow

Cal Crutchlow was hesitant to state whether Honda’s riders are is possession of a distinct advantage around Jerez, and feels their rivals will find a way to close in after he ended the first day of MotoGP free practice at Jerez on the top of the time sheets.

A late lap on a new soft rear tyre was enough for Crutchlow to clinch top spot in FP2 from fellow Honda man Dani Pedrosa – who tested here in late March, along with team-mate Marc Marquez - by 0.028s. The result, coupled with the reigning world champion’s speed throughout the day, suggested the ’18 RC213V is well suited to the Spanish track.

Crutchlow’s fastest time of 1m 38.614s was close to a second slower than his best lap from the November test at this circuit, when temperatures were lower and the grip was higher.

Commenting on the state of the circuit, which was resurfaced mid-way through 2017, Crutchlow said, “The tarmac was better but it was twenty degrees cooler then. I did a 37.8; one second faster than today. With those temperatures it was possible.

“I think tomorrow you’ll see 1m 37s. We are positive about our day and that the Hondas are working well. What I had against me was that Marc and Dani tested here two weeks ago in similar conditions. I tried to be competitive and I felt I was all day.

“Marc seems to have a bit more pace that most people at the minute but he is coming off a win. It is good to see a lot of the guys riding well and I think it will make for an interesting race for you guys on Sunday.”

Does he feel Honda’s riders are head and shoulders above the rest? “It is still too early to say. A lot of the other bikes take one day and overnight they are there. If they are sliding a lot then they try to fix it for day two. If we’re sliding then that's our natural bike and we don't make the same improvement overnight.

“I don't think we’ll suddenly have another second but other people might find another half a second. The bike is definitely working well. Again it is very physical to ride around here and to do a lot of laps consistently is quite hard. Obviously the speed is there.”

Is the 2018 RC213V any easier than previous specs? “We are fighting the bike…like mad,” he said. “But this is the way the Honda is and the way you have to ride. We always want it to be calmer and easier to ride but I think we all secretly like that it is hard to ride and you get more reward from getting a good result on it, rather than something like ‘pressing play’.

“As we have to ‘manually’ ride the bike then control is more in our hands and that’s why we can gain and not gain.”

Is he prepared for the race? “You’re never set for the race,” he said. “Even after a race with a good result you’ll still say you could have done some things differently. I feel I am competitive and the team and bike are working well and Honda also. Every circuit we have been to this year we’ve been good.

“We have to continue in this way and with good information to improve the package. It seems we can go to most circuits now and be competitive. That doesn't mean it is any easier. We can still improve for tomorrow. I felt good, but not superb. And I know how I can feel.”