Cal Crutchlow says the last 10 laps of his MotoGP Thailand Grand Prix were a “race of survival” after he “destroyed” his rear tyre running in the podium battle.
The LCR rider ran fourth in the early stages of the 26-lap race after qualifying fifth, but dramatically dropped of the pace late on and finished six seconds adrift of the win in seventh.
Crutchlow tried to conserve his rear hard Michelin tyre by applying the throttle when the bike was upright exiting corners, but this led to his demise as the “centre of the tyre this weekend was the problem”.
“It seems I rode a little bit in the wrong way in the race because at the start of the race I had a fantastic position and feeling with the bike,” said Crutchlow, who leads the independent riders' battle by two points in sixth over Pramac's Danilo Petrucci.
“But I was really trying to save the tyre and pick the bike up and go on the centre of the tyre, but the centre of the tyre this weekend was the problem and it destroyed the centre of the tyre.
“So I had less grip towards the end of the race. Up to lap 15 I was okay, but after lap 15 was like a switch and I really had to try to manage.
“My problem was I got passed by four riders in two laps, and then I lost three seconds in that time.
“Then it was a race of survival for the last 10 laps to make sure we finished the race because we needed the points for the championship.”
He added: “But to finish six seconds off the winner in seventh place is disappointing, because I finished six seconds off in Misano and I was on the podium.
“So it was a difficult race from the aspect of the position, but we are happy to finish and the team and team and Honda did a good job to give me a bike capable of doing the job and being able to finish today.”
Nakagami foiled by 'easy mistake'
Crutchlow's LCR stablemate Takaaki Nakagami impressed in the pre-season test at Buriram, finishing as top rookie in 10th overall, but struggled to replicate this form during the race weekend and finished a distant 22nd after an early tumble.
After starting from 14th, Nakagami was denied the chance to fight for any points after making an “easy mistake” under braking for the final corner on lap three saw him crash, before rejoining to finish two laps down in last.
“Of course I’m disappointed, unfortunately there were some easy mistakes. I made a mistake on the brakes in the last corner and was too fast into the apex and lost grip.
“I lost the front and crashed, after that I rejoined and just tried to finish the race.
“It was difficult because after the crash the handlebar was not in the correct position and the foot peg was not where it is normally.
“All I could do was finish the race, I’m really sorry to the team. Let’s focus on my home GP in two weeks and I’ll never stop trying to improve."
