Cal Crutchlow’s home Grand Prix ended in disappointment after the Castrol Honda LCR rider crashed on the fifth lap of Sunday’s race at Silverstone.
Starting 20th on the grid, Crutchlow was hoping to fight his way through the field and give the home crowd something to celebrate. However, his race came to an early end after he made a mistake under braking.
“It wasn’t the Grand Prix we would have hoped for. For me, for the team, and for the people who came here. But I gave my best,” Crutchlow said.
The British rider explained that he had shown strong pace throughout the weekend and felt he was riding at his fastest ever level around Silverstone. However, the battle in the opening laps affected his tyre temperature and contributed to the crash.
“Over the weekend, I was competitive and fast, the fastest I’ve ever been at Silverstone. Today, I crashed because I made a mistake under braking,” he said.
Crutchlow said spending several laps behind another rider caused his tyre temperature to rise. After making an overtake, he pushed to establish his rhythm but needed more time for the tyre to cool before increasing his pace again.
“For five laps, I had someone in front of me, and when you are in that situation, the tyre temperature increases,” he explained. “Once I was trying to set my rhythm after overtaking, I would have needed a couple of laps to let the tyre cool down before pushing again. That’s why I crashed.”
Despite failing to finish his home race, Crutchlow remained positive about the overall weekend. The rider and LCR Honda team made progress across the sessions and collected valuable data.
“In any case, we made progress this weekend. I leave here with good memories and the feeling that we did a good job,” Crutchlow added.
