MotoGP, Crutchlow: "I was afraid I'd end up like Marc and Dovi"

It is not one of his favourite tracks, but that does not matter much. Cal Crutchlow did not hold back, even in qualifying, taking pole position at Silverstone on Saturday. The Englishman made a play early, being the first to leave pit lane and setting his time that no one was able to match.

He could not have done any better.

“To be honest, I hadn’t noticed the coming rain. I just thought about pushing from the start. To tell the truth, I even thought I was slow in the first sector, so I couldn’t believe my time. In fact, that’s why I twisted the throttle so hard on the next lap, even risking a crash. Looking at all the other riders’ times, they were much slower than me.”

There were also several crashes.

“I’m sure the rain complicated things quite a bit. I was afraid when I saw Dovi and Marquez fall, because it could happen to me too. So, I stayed on the track, without having to push to the limit. Maybe I could have done a bit more, but I’m happy.”

What kind of race will it be tomorrow?

“At the moment, the Ducatis have shown that they are very competitive on the straight. I will definitely be giving 100%, no matter what the weather is like, which I hope is not uncertain. I would rather have it either wet or dry.”

Most of the crowd will be on your side.

“The fans have shown a lot of support and passion, but what counts will be the race. Starting from the front is a great motivator. We certainly could not have done any better.”

Is there a bit of pressure?

“I don’t think there is. Obviously, the fans show their warmth, just like in Spain. There will be a few more eyes on us, because it has been some years since an English rider has won here, but there won’t be that much pressure.”

You recently took an important step forward on the Honda.

“I think that five races ago we took a step forward where the electronics are concerned. Now we have more consistency. Maybe the bike was quite heavy to ride, but now in the last few races it has proven to be more agile. We are continuing to work so we’ll have more answers for the future. Generally, I think that with the Michelins we have also improved.”