Crutchlow: Now we know Ducati's strategy

Motegi runner-up Cal Crutchlow says Honda now has a clear idea of Ducati’s race strategy after he was left frustrated by Andrea Dovizioso’s ‘yo-yoing’ race pace in Japan.

The LCR Honda rider finished as the runner-up behind Marc Marquez after Dovizioso slid off on the penultimate lap, fending off Suzuki’s Alex Rins to seal second place.

Crutchlow, fifth in the championship standings, said: “The problem was that Dovi was yo-yoing the pace again. Now we know the strategy of Ducati, which they have done for four or five races in a row now: they do two or three fast laps, then he slows the pace down, and the he does two or three fast laps again.

“That was allowing Alex (Rins) and the group behind to catch and there’s nothing you can do about it. It’s so difficult to pass the Ducati because even when he slows down for a lap, the Ducati has so much power off the turns.

“I should probably have attacked Dovi earlier and let them fight it out for second place,” he added. “As I said to Marc, I was very disappointed with him because he could have given me the win, and he would have won (the title) anyway! And then you would have seen the show between me and Alex for the win.”

Crutchlow said it had been a great day for Honda, with Marquez securing the title and a race win, while the British rider made it a one-two for HRC at their home race.

“It’s great to be on the podium here in Japan. My team has done a fantastic job all weekend, as they have done all year,” he said.

“It’s Honda’s home race and we’re really pleased because Marc has won the world title, finished first and I’ve finished second, so it’s a great day in general for is. Congratulations to Marc for winning the world title – he’s been incredible all year.

“The race was a strange one. I felt good, but the problem was, I should have went for the lead early on but I was a little bit concerned about our power strategy and how I would press the buttons alone on the bike,” added Crutchlow.

“So I decided to sit behind Dovi. I had passed Marc, and I thought I if could pass Dovi, the they could fight it out and it would be okay. But then when Marc passed me back, I thought, ‘okay, now leave them to it’.

“I was still close to Marc, but I wanted to keep half-a-second (back), simply because I didn’t want to run long in one of those braking zones at Honda’s home Grand Prix, with Marc challenging for the title. Alex rode fantastic as well and now we look forward to Australia.”