Motourage

Monster Yamaha Tech 3 riders Cal Crutchlow and Josh Hayes quickly got to grips with challenging conditions at the Ricardo Tormo Circuit in Valencia today to finish a rain-hit opening of practice displaying impressive speed and consistency.

Tech 3 wild card and reigning two-time AMA Superbike champion Josh Hayes

Crutchlow was 10th quickest in this morning’s opening practice session on a damp track after heavy early morning rain had soaked the 2.489-mile circuit. He posted a best time of 1.46.581 to finish just more than a second away from the fastest pace.

The second session took place on a full wet track after torrential rain battered the Valencia circuit in the build-up to the start of the 45-minute practice. Crutchlow once again adapted himself superbly to the tricky conditions and he briefly topped the timesheets as he worked on improving the wet setting of his Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team machine to find better traction. With the track surface much wetter than in the morning session, lap times were slower as a result but Crutchlow’s best time of 1.49.350 secured the 26-year-old fifth place.

Today’s performance from double AMA Superbike champion Hayes, who is replacing injured compatriot Colin Edwards, was truly outstanding. Hayes has no knowledge of the tight and twisty Valencia track and he had never ridden Yamaha’s prototype YZR-M1 machine before today. The wet conditions didn’t make his task any less complicated but Hayes acquitted himself magnificently and this morning he was only 1.5 seconds away from the top 10.

Quickly adapting himself to the Bridgestone rain tires and the sophisticated electronics on the YZR-M1 machine, Hayes opted to gain as much experience as possible this afternoon by staying on track throughout the session. He completed 24 successive laps and managed to clock a best time of 1.50.509 to finish in 10th position. His time was good enough to comfortably outpace regulars Loris Capirossi, Hector Barbera, Hiroshi Aoyama and Toni Elias.

Crutchlow and Hayes rode with Sic58 stickers on the front of their Monster Yamaha Tech 3 bikes today in honor of Italian Marco Simoncelli, who lost his life in a tragic accident during the Malaysian Grand Prix in Sepang on October 23.

Cal Crutchlow, 10th, 1.46.58, 34 laps:
“Today was a positive start to the weekend and I think I could have gone a fair bit quicker at the end of this afternoon’s session and been challenging for the top three but I made a couple of small mistakes on my last lap. But I was still fifth fastest though and I felt pretty comfortable in the full wet conditions. I am happy enough even though the track hasn’t got much grip at all. It was very slippery and you’ve got to be careful because it is easy to make a mistake. But the bike definitely felt better in the full wet rather than when it was a bit sketchy this morning. I just hope we get a dry session tomorrow to get some time on the bike in the dry. Nobody wants to be starting the race with no dry track time, so we’ll have to see what happens with the weather. If it is wet tomorrow I’m sure we can make some improvements and go a bit faster.”

Josh Hayes, 15th, 1.48.037, 44 laps:
“My first day in MotoGP has been very difficult and quite scary at times to be honest. Before I went out this morning I don’t think I have ever been so nervous in my life. I was happy with my lap times this morning in tricky conditions but then in the full wet this afternoon it meant it was quite a scary introduction to MotoGP. Although I’ve not experienced the full potential of a MotoGP bike because of the wet conditions, it is obvious that the Tech 3 Yamaha is a very good motorcycle and the Team has done an excellent job to try and make me comfortable. All I had to do was ride the machine and try to improve. Right now it is not so much about the set-up of the bike, it is just me learning the bike and I will continue that process tomorrow. I just hope that at some point I will get to have a dry practice so I can get to grips with the carbon brakes. I don’t want to be going into the race on Sunday having to learn to ride in the dry and also adjust to the carbon brakes after two wet days. That would be the worst scenario for me, but I enjoyed today a lot. It was a great experience and once again I want to thank everybody at Yamaha, Tech 3 and Monster that made this possible.”

Cal Crutchlow raced to a thoroughly deserved top-10 finish in yesterday’s GP Aperol di San Marino e Riviera di Rimini in hot and humid conditions at the Misano circuit as Monster Yamaha Tech 3 teammate Colin Edwards claimed his eighth successive top-10 finish, despite encountering an uncomfortable arm pump issue in the second half of the 28-lap race.

Sunday’s race proved to be a major test of physical endurance with hot and humid conditions dominating the 13th round of the World Championship. Super-fit Crutchlow needed to call on all his reserves of energy to claim his first top-10 finish since he was a brilliant seventh in the Catalunya round.

He was inside the top 10 on only the third lap, Crutchlow expertly navigating pockets of light rain that had started to fall on sections of the track while the riders formed on the grid.

The British rider put immense pressure on Alvaro Bautista for the opening 16-laps before he took ninth from Edwards on lap 21. Hector Barbera dropped him back to ninth on lap 25, but Crutchlow refused to settle for 10th position and he launched a sustained attack on the Spaniard in the closing stages. Crutchlow gave his maximum effort but couldn’t find a way by Barbera, who clinched ninth by just more than 0.2s.

Yesterday’s race turned out to be a difficult experience for Edwards, who battled with factory Yamaha rider Ben Spies for the first eight laps. The 37-year-old experienced a severe arm pump issue from lap 21 onwards. The demanding humidity and hard braking zones at the 2.626-mile circuit only made the issue worse for Edwards, who bravely rode on despite the considerable discomfort.

His courage and determination was rewarded with 13th position, a result which retains Edwards’ position as the leading non-factory rider in the standings heading to the Motorland Aragon in Spain.

Colin Edwards will start his bid for a top-six finish in front of his home fans at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway tomorrow from the second row of the grid after he equaled his best qualifying performance of 2011 this afternoon. The Monster Yamaha Tech 3 rider was able to transfer his stunning practice form into the 60-minute qualifying session and he will start tomorrow’s 28-lap race from sixth position on the grid.

Throughout the three practice sessions, Edwards was consistently running inside the top six, and a fastest lap of 1.40.098 in a sun-drenched qualifying session saw him finish just more than 0.1” away from claiming fourth spot on the grid. With the new infield tarmac offering vastly improved levels of grip with more rubber laid down on the iconic Indianapolis Motor Speedway today, Edwards was able to lap 1.2” faster than his best time in qualifying for last year’s race. The 37-year-old Texan is now optimistic that he can battle for a third top six result of the 2011 MotoGP World Championship to strengthen his bid to finish the campaign as the leading non-factory rider.

British rider Cal Crutchlow had a frustrating end to an otherwise encouraging qualifying session and he will start the 12th round of this year’s World Championship from 11th position on the grid. The 25-year-old has dedicated the majority of his time this weekend working hard with his Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team crew to make progress in finding a comfortable front-end setting with his YZR-M1 machine. His commitment and determination looked like being rewarded with a top-10 place on the grid, but as he pushed to improve his best lap time of 1.40.620, Crutchlow came across Loris Capirossi riding slowly on the racing line at Turn 13 in the final two minutes.

Crutchlow had to quickly take evasive action to avoid a collision with the Ducati rider and he ran into the gravel trap, preventing him from making any further improvement to his lap time. Despite missing out on his ninth top 10 grid position of the season, Crutchlow is confident he can battle with factory riders Nicky Hayden and Alvaro Bautista in tomorrow’s race.

Colin Edwards, 6th, 1.40.098, 26 laps:
“The weekend has been great so far and now I’m really looking forward to the race tomorrow. I haven’t been out of the top six in every session and everything has been working fantastic. I feel great on the bike, my Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team have been working tirelessly again to give me a competitive package, and I’m sure a realistic goal is to finish in the top six. That would be a great result and I’m hoping to put on a good show for the Indy crowd tomorrow. The new pavement was a million times better today. Yesterday it was greasy and I was sliding around all over the place, but to finish third in that first practice session gave me a lot of confidence immediately and we have just built on that. Right at the end on one of the soft tires I knew I had to take a risk on the first lap. Normally I’m not the guy that pushes on the first lap, but I knew here that the soft tire needed to be hammered right out of the pit lane when it had a lot better grip than the second lap. The bike has felt the best it has for a few races and now I’m excited for the race. I need a good start but I’ll be looking to have a good fight with Dovizioso and Simoncelli. In this heat it is going to be a long and tough race, but I’ll be giving it my all for the American fans.”

Cal Crutchlow, 11th, 1.40.620, 24 laps:
“I’m pretty disappointed with Loris today. He is the most experienced rider on track and he should no better than anybody that riding slowly at the end of a qualifying session when everybody is going to be pushing hard for a decent grid position isn’t the right thing to do. The worst thing was he looked behind twice and saw me coming but he stayed on the racing line when he knew I was on a fast lap. I had to swerve really quick to avoid hitting him and that is disappointing. I’m not saying I was going to jump into the top five, but I’m sure without that I might have qualified inside the top 10. That would have been a good result because I’m struggling with the front-end again. I keep losing the front and it is proving quite difficult at the moment to find an improvement. I’m working really hard, and so are my guys, to find a solution. But we haven’t quite made me as comfortable on the bike as I’d like. My pace is still not that bad and I’m sure I can be fighting in a group with Nicky and Alvaro tomorrow. If I can get a good start, I’m hopeful I can stay with them and have a good scrap.”

Monster Yamaha Tech 3 rider Colin Edwards made a superb start to his home MotoGP round at the Red Bull Indianapolis Grand Prix yesterday.

The popular Texan finished inside the top six in both practice sessions as preparations for round 12 of this year’s MotoGP World Championship commenced in hot and humid conditions.

Edwards finished the morning’s first 45-minute session in a fantastic third position, and he was one of only two non-factory riders to lap inside the top 10. Lap times were some way off last year’s pace as the field got to grips with the repaved infield section between turns five and 16.

But with more rubber laid on the track, times tumbled in the second practice and Edwards was able to knock almost two seconds off his best pace. He ended with a fastest time of 1.41.699 to finish sixth on the combined time sheets; the 37 year old once again leaving a host of factory-supported riders trailing in his wake. Edwards was just more then 0.2” behind reigning World Champion Jorge Lorenzo in fourth, and he’s confident he can mount a challenge for a top six in Sunday’s 28-lap race.

Cal Crutchlow was also able to drastically improve his lap times in the second session, the British rider taking full advantage of the improved grip levels to finish with a best time of 1.43.085. That was 2.3” quicker than his benchmark set this morning as Crutchlow worked on improving the setup of his Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team machine, while also trying to learn the technically demanding Indianapolis Motor Speedway track.

Crutchlow finished in 15th position overall but was only 0.7” away from the top 10. The 25 year old is confident with improved track conditions and further setup modifications to gain more front-end confidence, he will be able to compete for a top-10 grid position in tomorrow afternoon’s qualifying session.

Colin Edwards, 6th, 1.41.699, 36 laps:
“This morning it felt like I was back at the Texas Tornado Boot Camp but just riding a more expensive bike because it was pretty slippery out there. To be honest I actually really enjoyed it even though the grip was a bit sketchy. We all knew that grip was going to be a little bit of an issue this morning but it was 100 per cent dirt track. As soon as you got your knee on the ground the front would go and the rear would come round, but I still had a lot of fun with the bike moving around so much. This afternoon with a lot more rubber down it was a lot better and hats off to the folks at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. They’ve done an amazing job because the bumps that have been really bad have mostly gone and with a bit more rubber down the surface is going to offer a lot more grip. We won’t feel the benefit of the new tarmac this year but the changes are for the future and next year it is going to be a million times better. Being third this morning and sixth this afternoon has given me a lot of confidence for the rest of the weekend. I’m not fighting the bike this weekend and it feels awesome.”

Cal Crutchlow, 15th, 1.43.085, 37 laps:
“This morning was pretty difficult because the track was very slippery and I was having to contend with not a lot of grip while also trying to push to l earn the track. Sometimes I’d run off line and it was so dirty that I was losing a lot of time. The track was in much better condition this afternoon but it felt like I didn’t have the front grip I needed to push for a faster time. We had a lot of wear on the tire and not much grip and I’m not sure why. The issue this year has been losing the front on the brakes, but today I was losing the front mid-corner and off the throttle. I’m sure we can make some big steps with the set-up and I’m confident I can climb a few places up the order and fight for a top 10 in qualifying tomorrow. The good thing is that every single lap we make improvements and I go faster, so if we can get more front-end feeling then I’m looking forward to having a strong race.”

Colin Edwards started and finished today’s MotoGP Cardion ab Grand Prix Ceské Republiky in eighth position, the American once again finishing the leading non-factory rider on board his Monster Yamaha Tech 3 machine. The 37-year-old rode a determined race throughout the 22-lap encounter, which took place under cloudy but warm skies in front of a massive crowd of 155,400 at the Brno circuit.

After struggling to find maximum traction in this morning’s Warm-up session, Edwards made a geometry modification to his YZR-M1 machine prior to the race. Although he felt the modifications improved front and rear grip, the improvements weren’t reflected by an improvement in his lap times, and he spent almost the entire race in close pursuit of fellow American Nicky Hayden’s factory Ducati machine.

Despite launching numerous attempts to up his pace and get within striking distance of the 2006 World Champion, Edwards was frustrated in his attempt to seize a hard-fought seventh position. He still collected eight valuable World Championship points to keep him well on course for a top 10 finish in the overall rankings.

Round 11 of the 2011 MotoGP World Championship ended in unhappy circumstances for Cal Crutchlow. The 25-year-old was optimistic he could battle for a top 10 result. But his race was ended prematurely by a front-end crash at the first corner on lap seven after he’d just passed Hector Barbera for 10th.

Crutchlow was able to walk away uninjured but the British rider was frustrated that his hard work throughout the weekend went unrewarded.

Colin Edwards, 8th, +24.189:
“I said yesterday that if I finished in the same position that I started that I would be pretty happy. I guess I am pretty happy but it was not an easy race. I know I gave it my absolute maximum out there but eighth position was the best I could do but by no means was it a bad weekend. In the Warm-up this morning I had zero traction, so we made a small geometry change for the race and it was definitely better. I had more grip but the lap time was the same as this morning. All I kept seeing on my lap timer on the dashboard was 58.5, 58.5. It must have been like that for about 14 laps in a row and at one point I thought it had broken. I just couldn’t go much faster and it seems we are lacking traction compared to the others. I was spinning the rear tyre a lot and right now our bike feels a little bit unforgiving. I was right on the back of Nicky for pretty m uch the whole race but I couldn’t do anything with him. Our lap times just didn’t deviate at all, so I couldn’t get close enough to him. It wasn’t like he had more grip than me, but because we were doing the same pace I didn’t get close enough to attack him.”

Cal Crutchlow, DNF:
“Nobody is more disappointed than me with what happened because another crash is the last thing I needed. I am currently having a difficult run of races but all I can do is get my head down, work hard with my crew and try and put things right in the future. At the moment I am struggling with grip in the front-end and we seem to have been going round in circles a little bit to find a solution. Today I was off brake and accelerating at the first corner when I lost the front. The last person who wants to crash is me, but I can only do my best. I am sorry to my Team and Yamaha but I am s ure they realise that I am trying as hard as I can to get a good result. We’ve got a test tomorrow and that is important because we can work on the bike without the time constraints of practice. We can dedicate all our time to trying to give me some confidence back in the front. I still believe in myself and I am determined to get a good result in Indianapolis.”

Hervé Poncharal, Monster Yamaha Tech3 Team Manager:
“Today feels a bit like a repeat of what happened in Laguna Seca. Colin had a strong race and I believe he got the best result we could have hoped for. He was pushing from the beginning to the end and he never gave up trying to put pressure on Nicky. I want to thank him for trying so hard and keeping a constant pace for the whole race. On the other side of the garage with Cal, I always try to understand, support and help, but he doesn’t feel confident with the front for some reas on. Part of this game is to adapt yourself and the riding style to the bike you have and we are crashing too much. And not finishing the races, I don’t think that this is the way to learn in your rookie year. I don’t want to blame anybody, but we need to be positive and think what we can do to help him in the future races. We know what he is capable of after the way he started the season so strongly, so we need to get back to that level of performance and hopefully it will come soon, starting at the next race in Indianapolis.”

The Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team returned to action in Brno today, and the opening two practice sessions saw Cal Crutchlow and Colin Edwards make a solid start to their preparations for Sunday’s Czech Republic MotoGP round.

After a well-deserved two-week summer break, Crutchlow was instantly back in the groove in cloudy conditions this morning, the British rider setting the ninth-quickest time.

The 25 year old was able to dedicate all his time on improving the setup of his Monster Yamaha Tech 3 YZR-M1 machine having previously raced at the Brno circuit in the World Superbike Championship.

And he put that previous track knowledge to good use in this afternoon’s second session, which was run in hotter and brighter conditions that saw temperatures increase to 23 degrees C. Crutchlow improved his pace by more than half a second this afternoon, and a time of 1.57.859 put him sixth at one stage. He eventually finished ninth, but giving his confidence a major boost, he finished just more than 0.3” away from fifth position on combined times.

Cal Crutchlow, 9th, 1’57.859, 33 laps:
“Today was a positive day and we made a good improvement with the bike and I feel like the front-end feeling I’ve been missing in the last few races is definitely better. We tried a new handlebar position, bringing them closer to me and it was a positive step. It is still not as good as I’d like it to be but we’ll try and change the set-up of the bike for tomorrow to gain some more turning performance. I should have been a little bit quicker but I made a mistake on the last lap and I’m sure I could have been in the top seven. Valentino (Rossi) and (Alvaro) Bautista just got me at the end but I’m confident I can be battling for around seventh place in the race on Sunday. Not having to learn the circuit today has been a big help and I’ve proved with some track knowledge I can finish in front of some guys with a lot more experience than me in MotoGP. Maybe I’ve been pushing too hard in the last few weeks without the track knowledge on new circuits, but today my pace was pretty consistent and it was a solid start and gives me a platform to build on now for the rest of the weekend.”

Colin Edwards, 12th, 1’58.313, 33 laps:
“Today has been a bit of a struggle to be honest and I was hoping to be a bit higher up the timesheets than 12th. We are working hard to find a solution but right now we’re still missing something in the set-up of the bike that allows me to push at a level I feel comfortable and confident at. My biggest problem is the rear grip and it doesn’t feel like the tire is getting the force into the ground I need and I’m riding on a small contact patch. As a consequence that also has an impact on front feeling and that is not the formula for setting fast lap times. I’m running wide a lot and to make sure I can get the bike turned I have to slow the corner speed right down. But losing a lot of corner speed kills the lap time, so I’ve got have a sit down tonight with my crew and come up with a plan to change the bike for tomorrow to see if we can make it better.”

Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team rider Colin Edwards rode to a hard fought eighth place finish in front of a large home crowd at the Laguna Seca Circuit earlier today.

Today’s race started in gloriously sunny conditions with temperatures reaching 23 degrees and a sun-drenched crowd of 52,670 were treated to an exciting battle throughout the 32-lap encounter.

Edwards seized eighth from Hector Barbera exiting the famous Corkscrew section on lap 14 but he was already six seconds adrift of the battle for sixth place involving Ducati duo Valentino Rossi and Nicky Hayden.

He was able to run identical lap times to nine-times world champion Rossi and double Laguna Seca MotoGP winner Hayden in the middle phase of the race. But he was unable to reduce the gap and he opted not to take any unnecessary risks to ensure he collected eigth valuable World Championship points.

Today’s result, which was the 37-year-old’s seventh top-ten finish of the campaign, moved him up one place in the overall rankings after to consolidate his position as the leading non-factory rider in 2011.

Cal Crutchlow’s debut at the spectacular Laguna Seca circuit was unfortunately a short experience; the British rider’s hopes of a return to the top 10 ended by an early crash.

Colin Edwards and Cal Crutchlow conclude the busiest period of the 2011 MotoGP World Championship this weekend in America, the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team riders heading to the spectacular Laguna Seca track full of optimism and expectation.

Cal Crutchlow desperately needs a positive outcome, and soon

After collecting a hard fought 10th position in last weekend’s German round at the Sachsenring, Edwards is confident he can be even more competitive in his all-important home race. The immensely popular Texan, who has huge fan base at Laguna Seca, put in a tremendous amount of effort to improve the set-up of his Monster Yamaha YZR-M1 machine in Germany, and he’s hoping to reap the rewards this weekend on the shortest track on the MotoGP calendar. Having finished seventh in the California clash in 2009 and 2010, the 37-year-old is determined to battle for a top six finish to delight what will be a large and passionate home support.

This weekend’s race presents another fresh challenge for Cal Crutchlow, who is looking forward to testing his skills on the famous Laguna Seca track, which hosts the first of two visits to America for the MotoGP paddock in the space of five weeks. The Brit can’t wait to get his first taste of the 3.610km circuit and he’s looking forward to tackling the awe-inspiring Corkscrew corner, which requires skill and bravery in abundance to master. Crutchlow, the 2009 Supersport World Champion, tried a range of different settings in Germany last weekend to improve his confidence with the front-end of his Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team. And while his 14th position didn’t reflect his hard work, his crew is positive they are moving in the right direction to give the 25-year-old the feeling he is looking for.

After a hectic run of six races in eight weeks, the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team will enjoy a richly deserved short summer break after Sunday’s race before the 2011 campaign resumes in Brno, Czech Republic on August 14.

Colin Edwards:
“I can’t wait to get to Laguna because I love the place so much. I have a lot of family and friends that are coming which always makes it extra special, but the American fans are brilliant to me, so hopefully I can send them home smiling on Sunday night with a good result. It has been a bit manic since Germany because I flew straight to LA to shoot another movie for Yamaha. They are always good fun and I really enjoy myself, so a big thanks to Yamaha US for all they d o in arranging that for us. I am really looking forward to the weekend and although 10th in Germany wasn’t the result we wanted, it was actually a positive race. We certainly learned a few things about the bike because we made a lot of changes, so I’ve got good reason to be optimistic of fighting for the top six this weekend. That’s my goal anyway and if we have a smooth weekend, I’m sure that’s achievable. I want to get a strong result not just because it’s my home race, but it will make the summer break more relaxing and enjoyable and set me up for a strong push in the final part of the season.”

Cal Crutchlow:
“The result last weekend in Germany was a bit disappointing but I’m ready to bounce back in Laguna Seca and fight for a top ten where I know I should be. I’m still searching for some more confidence in the front-end, but all of us in the Monster Yam aha Tech 3 Team are working non-stop to improve the situation and we’ve got a few ideas to try and Laguna. It is another new track for me but I’m really excited. Laguna Seca is such a famous name and the Corkscrew looks amazing. It looks awesome on TV, so I’m looking forward to getting on the bike on Friday and experiencing it for myself for the first time. I’ll have to ask Colin for some tips, but I’m just concentrating on getting a decent result that we can build on for the rest of the season. The last few races have been quite difficult but I’ll be working harder than ever this weekend to put things right.”

Premature tire wear forced Cal Crutchlow to make an important decision: Pit or risk crashing

Colin Edwards and Cal Crutchlow both saw deserved top five finishes in the Iveco TT Assen elude them at the legendary Circuit van Drenthe yesterday afternoon. After rain had played a major part in the earlier 125cc and Moto2 races, the 26-lap race started on a dry but cold track, with threatening grey clouds still looming overhead as the action commenced. With air temperatures only just reaching a cold 13 degrees and the earlier rain affecting grip levels, Edwards and Crutchlow both fitted the soft compound Bridgestone front tire to their Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team machines.

Crutchlow made the best start of his MotoGP career and ended the first lap in fourth place, the British rider showing phenomenal early speed to chase Casey Stoner and Andrea Dovizioso. Ignoring the pain of the recovering left collarbone he broke at Silverstone just 15 days ago, the adrenaline fuelled 25-year-old superbly kept nine-times World Champion Valentino Rossi at bay until he started to encounter a front tire grip issue after five laps. Determined to overcome the issue to claim his first top six MotoGP finish, he fought brilliantly to remain in the top six until lap 11 when the problem worsened. The 2009 World Supersport champion opted to pit for a new front tire on lap 13 and he demonstrated his true potential again in the second half of the race to set a fast and consistent pace on his way to 14th.

American Edwards also encountered a front tire grip issue as the race avoided any repeat of the earlier rain. Once he’d settled into a fast pace, Edwards was comfortably cutting the gap to Crutchlow and Rossi when his front tire started to lose traction. He held fifth until lap 17 when he was unable to hold off compatriot Nicky Hayden. Edwards also then encountered a rare arm pump issue caused as he tried to compensate for the muscle damage to his left ribcage suffered in a recent crash at Cataluña. Despite his best efforts the 37-year-old was unable to maintain his pace and he dropped down the order to finish in seventh position.

Colin Edwards, Position 7th, Time +1.08.112:
“That wasn’t an easy race at all and to be honest I’m happy I made it to the finish. I was feeling really good and catching Valentino and Cal when I went through the second corner and lost the front. I thought it was just because I was pushing but the next corner the same thing happened and from that moment it was really difficult. Each time I was in a right-hander I couldn’t turn but that wasn’t my only issue today. After about ten laps I got really bad arm pump. I’ve got no upper body strength with the rib injury from Cataluña, so to compensate I was doing everything with my arms and at one stage, the combination of the two issues meant I thought I was going to have to pull in. It was a case of gritting my teeth and getting some points but we’ll analyze what happened because Ben (Spies) won the race on the soft front tire. Our bike isn’t set-up completely different, so we’ll have to talk to Bridgestone, but hats off to Ben because he’s done an awesome job all weekend and rode a great race.”

Cal Crutchlow, Position 14th, Time -2 laps:
“Looking at the positives I got a fantastic start and for the first few laps I was running close to the front in a MotoGP race for the first time. I felt confident I could keep Valentino behind me but then after about five or six laps I started struggling with the front tire on the right side. I had no choice but to come in and change it because if I had carried on pushing it was going to be easy to crash and that’s the last thing I need to be doing at the moment. Having only had surgery on my left collarbone just over a week ago I just couldn’t afford to have another crash. Without that I’ve no doubt I’d have finished fourth but I’ve proved again I’ve got the speed and shown that I can race with the best in this class. It wasn’t the final result we wanted but I can’t change it and I still learned a lot, so now I’m concentrating on Mugello and getting a good result there.”

Hervé Poncharal, Monster Yamaha Tech3 Team Manager:
“It was a brilliant start for both Cal and Colin and at that moment, after the incident between Simoncelli and Lorenzo, I was thinking that they could finish with a really strong Team result. The lap time was looking good from both of them and we were hoping they could finish inside the top six together for the first time this season. But suddenly we saw the lap time of Cal drop a lot and he came to the pit where we found out that the right side of his soft front tire was completely finished. So he left the pit again with a hard compound, but of course his race was finished, though I want to thank him for going back and pushing to his maximum for the Team. It was only a few laps later also Colin’s pace went down. He managed to defend seventh position but by the end he was very slow with the same problem as Cal. Unfortunately that is racing and in those conditions you have to take a bit of a gamble, as we almost had no proper dry time on the track. Finally I’d like to say congratulations to Yamaha and Ben. This weekend was huge for Yamaha being its 50th anniversary celebrations and for Ben to win was the perfect way to finish the weekend.”

Assen, Saturday, June 25, 2011

Cal Crutchlow has undergone successful surgery on the broken left collarbone he suffered during last weekend’s AirAsia British Grand Prix at Silverstone. Crutchlow earned his first two World Superbike wins at the Northhamptonshire track in 2010 before making his more to MotoGP this season.

The 25-year-old former British and World Supersport champion had a titanium plate and several screws inserted in the shoulder in an operation carried out by specialist surgeon Doctor David Clark at the Royal Derby Hospital. The Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team rider broke his left collarbone in five places in a high-speed accident during qualifying for his home race at the Silverstone Circuit.

Surgery on the damaged collarbone was delayed while Crutchlow was assessed for a neck injury suffered in the crash. Initial checks at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford showed a suspected non-displacement fracture of his C2 vertebrae. But CAT scans showed no damage to his neck, and he was immediately transferred to the Royal Derby Hospital for surgery on his left collarbone.

Crutchlow has already started the recovery process with intensive physiotherapy, but it is too early to know whether the 2009 World Supersport Champion will be fit to participate in the Dutch Grand Prix at the historic Assen circuit next weekend.
Further information on Crutchlow’s recovery will be made available in the next few days.

Cal Crutchlow:
“The operation on my collarbone was a success and the doctors seem really happy with the outcome. But I am still in a lot of pain. Unfortunately, the break is a lot worse than the one my team-mate Colin Edwards had in Catalunya and I’ve got different pain and movement levels. And I’ve spent two days lying on my back with a suspected neck injury, so my shoulder just got swollen. I am not very happy that this happened to me in my home race at Silverstone when things were going really well for the weekend. I don’t know if I will ride in Assen. We will have to wait and see, but I’ll be trying 100 per cent to be there if I can.”