Crutchlow: If I passed, I was on my head!

Cal Crutchlow revealed he soon became aware that Sunday’s MotoGP outing at Mugello was a “damage limitation” exercise, with all Hondas struggling with Michelin’s tyre allocation, which he felt was too soft once track temperatures rose.

The Englishman was the highest placed HRC machine in sixth come the flag. Elsewhere, it was a race Honda riders would prefer to forget. Marc Marquez, Dani Pedrosa, Takaaki Nakagami and Thomas Luthi all crashed out, while Franco Morbidelli – quick through free practice – could only manage a distant 15^th.

In part, this was down to the high track temperatures. Michelin’s front tyres – the asymmetric hard, which Marquez felt was too soft on the left side, and the medium – were under too much duress when braking for turns one, four and ten.

Crutchlow, who ran the medium, felt he could ride at a decent pace – his quickest lap on lap six clocking in just 0.3s off Petrucci’s overall fastest – when alone. But once behind a rider, as he was when he joined the frantic five-way fight for third, he was unable to pass, such were the temperatures of his front tyre.

“It was a damage limitation race, as we knew from tyre allocation,” said Crutchlow. “Here two weeks ago when we tested it, Marc did 46.8. I did 47.0. We did ten of them in a row basically. The track temperature 20 degrees less, but the tyre allocation now with this heat for us was really bad.

“I did what I could. I sat there. The problem I had was the heat from the bikes in front of me were just melting the front tyre. So I could not pass. If I passed, honestly I was on my head. So I had to just accept it and try and be there whenever I got fresh air.

“I did 48.7 with three laps to go. One lap before we were doing 50’s behind Petrucci. I know it was a bit of a mess that lap. We did a 49.9 or something. We were 1.3 seconds quicker alone. So I needed to get to the front of the group to have a chance at the podium, but you have to pass.

“I couldn’t pass. There was nowhere to pass. I had to wait for mistakes. A couple of people made mistakes. Our bike is very, very strong in the braking zone. We know that. But it also overheats the front tyre.”

Still, despite the issues he was having, Crutchlow feels the 2018 race demonstrates the gains Honda has made in the past year. Last season’s outing saw Marquez struggle to sixth, while the Englishman and Dani Pedrosa were lapping outside the top ten.

In similar hot conditions Marquez was challenging at the front, with Crutchlow at least able to stay with the quickest Suzukis and Yamaha.

“One thing I will say, is Honda have done a very good job since last year,” commented Crutchlow. “Even though the result is not fantastic, it’s better than last year for me personally, and for Marc because he was more competitive than what he was last year until he made his mistake.

“So we know that the Honda engine is strong. We’ve got more power. But the physicality to ride the bike today was very, very hard compared to our competitors, especially the Suzuki, especially the Yamaha. The Ducati was fast, but I think they struggled. Petrucci I could see struggled more with the tyre wear. If you look at Dovi, I think he really struggled in the last five laps because of the physicality as well.

“Honestly it was a race that everyone thought it was going to be 47’s, and it would have been if the track temperature was right. We’re riding around in 48’s. The track temperature is so hot, and you can ride around in practice alone - as I said, I rode around alone one second off Rins, and I caught him one second in the lap because I was alone and you get the fresh air.

“[Jorge] Lorenzo did it perfect. I think he would have been in more trouble if he was in the group. He just did it perfect. Dovi was good because he managed to get to the group as well. I felt for us here I wanted a podium. I finished sixth, so I’m disappointed but I think it was exactly like Qatar.

“I managed the situation very well, as best I could and as best to expect with the Honda. You see Morbidelli all weekend? Where did he finish? Fifteenth. That’s the reality, unfortunately. It’s OK riding around alone in practice. It’s OK saying this is the speed, but it’s not. It’s not the reality. The reality in the race is completely different when you ride our bike.”