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Crutchlow is no longer just a fun rider with a habit for crashing. This season he has shown that he can play for it on equal terms with the best on some tracks. The first win of his career came in Brno and today he repeated the performance at Phillip Island. “And in the dry, so they’ll stop saying that I only win in the wet” he smiles.
This weekend a bit of everything happened…
“I kept my head on my shoulders. It was dangerous riding in certain conditions. Even in the race, it was not simple, because we had ridden on the dry track only in warmup.”
Was it a perfect day?
“I’m disappointed because my two girls (editor’s note: wife, Lucy and daughter, Willow) were not with me. They are on a flight to Malaysia right now and the will find out that I won in a few hours.”
Then it is true that becoming a father has made you faster…
“I feel different; I am more relaxed. When you have a child, everything changes. I was more selfish before and thought only of myself. Now I think of her.”
You’ll have to think about having another child after this win…
“They told me the same thing after Brno, but for now it hasn’t happened. Maybe we’ll have twins (he laughs). For now we are not planning on it, but never say never.”
You like this track, but you also have bad memories here. Did you think about that?
“Of course, I saw Marquez go down on turn 4. I had done it on turn 6 on the final lap when I was on the podium with Ducati two years ago. I thought about it all the way to the end.”
It went differently this time…
“I realized when I could push and when to control. When they signalled to me that Valentino was behind me, I said: he started in 15th place and now he wants to catch me? (he laughs) In those situations it is not simple. If you push too hard you can crash, but if you slow down to much the tyre cools down and you crash anyway. Let’s just say that I had a few flashbacks.”
Are you faster than ever?
“I am having a good moment in my career and I have achieved some goals I had set for myself at the beginning of the season, like the podium at Silverstone and a win. A few days ago I told a journalist that I had come here to win, but I don’t think he believed me (he laughs). When I feel good on the bike, like today, I know that I’m fast.”
Is Honda giving you a hand?
“I have just worked well with the team, and I thank them, in this second half of the season. I am not on a factory bike, although it is very similar, but I have not had any special treatment because Pedrosa is not racing.”
The next track is Sepang. Was it an advantage to test there a few months ago for Michelin?
“I wouldn’t say so. We found bad conditions. We did not do many laps and they were 4 seconds slower than usual. The different banking on the turns is a change that you learn in a few laps. I hope to have a psychological advantage (he laughs).”
