Crutchlow claims heroic career best result in Le Mans

Cal Crutchlow produced the ride of his MotoGP career in Le Mans today to claim a heroic podium in the home race of the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team.

Just 24 hours after a heavy practice crash left him with a fracture in his right leg, the British rider showed amazing skill, concentration and courage to finish second in a 28-lap race run in the toughest conditions imaginable.

Crutchlow was the lead Yamaha rider home at the end of a race that started on a perilously slippery and wet surface after heavy rain fell in the build-up. Visibility and calculating grip levels were major early challenges but Crutchlow quickly gained his confidence and he sliced through the field with some outstanding overtakes.

The 27-year-old stormed through from seventh to second with measured moves on reigning World Champion Jorge Lorenzo, Valentino Rossi and Andrea Dovizioso, an impressive feat considering how tough it was to master constantly changing conditions and grip levels on a rapidly drying track.

Crutchlow’s career best MotoGP result and first rostrum of 2013 was secured on lap 24 when he attacked former Tech 3 teammate Dovizioso and today’s outstanding performance moved the former World Supersport Champion into fourth place in the World Championship standings with four of 18 rounds completed.

Cal Crutchlow 2nd- 55 points:

“I’m really happy to get my best ever result in MotoGP and the whole team did an incredible job and deserves this result. We showed our fast pace in the dry, we showed our pace in the wet and I think everybody is aware we are not here through luck. It’s even better and more important because this is the home race for Tech 3 and Monster Energy sponsors the event. So to be the best and only Yamaha on the podium feels really good. My start was not the best and it took me a bit of time to get temperature into the tyres. But once I managed that I felt really comfortable. When I saw Andrea and Dani opening a small gap to Valentino I had to make a move because I was afraid they would be too far ahead to try and catch later in the race. And when I saw Marquez recovering time on my pit board I had to pass Andrea otherwise he might have caught both of us during the last laps. I’m really happy with how things went, especially after the crash yesterday. The wet track obviously put less stress on my body but it was tough riding injured in such tough conditions. From now on I just hope we can be injury free and go to Mugello to put on the same show as we did here today.” 

Herve Poncharal – Team Manager:  

“That was a very special race for everybody connected to the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team. Seeing Cal get a fantastic second place in France and with Monster Energy a title sponsor of the event is incredible because there is always quite a lot of pressure on us to perform. I remember in similar conditions last year both of our guys were fighting for the podium but ended up in the gravel, so I did not feel too comfortable before the start of the race. It has not been an easy weekend with the weather conditions and Cal’s big crash from yesterday, and we even had some doubt that he would be able to participate in qualifying but he did a great job. It was easy to make a mistake in those very difficult conditions but the way he cut through the field gave Tech 3 fans a lot to cheer in the race. Cal is doing an amazing job this season and today once again he showed what a top talent he is. He took his opportunity to get a podium and to get a career best result was a great reward for him and all his crew.”