Crutchlow returns to 2019 Honda chassis, front end still ‘critical'

Cal Crutchlow has confirmed he has followed Marc Marquez’s lead in reverting to a Honda chassis that is almost identical to the machine he raced in 2019 in an effort to cure the handling issues that have hampered development of the RC213V.

The 2020-specification RC213V launched at the top of the year has steadily begun morphing back into its predecessor after Marquez, Crutchlow and Alex Marquez each complained during testing that the Honda – which is reliant on its front-end for a fast lap time – had erratic handling traits.

For Crutchlow, he says he is now close to riding the 2019 LCR Honda, albeit with the latest engine, which he says is a blessing in the sense the bike feels familiar but a drawback because he would have preferred a step forward.

“I used something different [2020 chassis] in the test on Wednesday and I decided to not continue with it,” said Crutchlow, who was third fastest in the faster FP1 session. “The question was asked the other day ‘would Honda still support me’ and I used this answer on Wednesday to test something different but I decided to not continue with it because I think we need more time away from a race weekend to evaluate this a little bit more.

“The bike essentially now I am riding is very similar to the 2019 bike save for some small upgrades in the electronics and the engine, but the chassis and everything else is very much the same. It’s good in one sense because you have a similar feeling but I would have preferred to have some more innovations on the bike and such.”

Ironically, despite the 2020 chassis being axed because of handling problems, it seemed the complaints of the 2019-spec bike – front-end feel – remains a bugbear with both Marc and Alex Marquez crashing in FP2, while Crutchlow says he also fell too.

“I nearly had one on the last lap, that’s why I pulled out,” he continued. “Exactly the same as Marc, I lost the front in turn two but Marc would continue to lean the bike over and try save it, whereas I let go of the brake and pray that I stay on, and I did.

“It’s very critical, this is the Honda, the front of the bike is really critical to manage and I didn’t see Marc and Alex’s crashes so I cannot comment on that, from going on what we know from previous years, it is the Honda’s strong point to tip into the corner, but it’s also our weak point because we have to keep pushing

“That is our only chance to gain time over the whole lap, we gain everything in the braking and with the rider manually riding the bike. We keep going past that limit.”