As part of the Rider Safety Commission, Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda) was a member of the team involved in making the decision to alter the Montemelo circuit after Friday’s tragic incident. The Safety Commission chose to use the layout used by F1, slowing down the final sector significantly. This resulted in Crutchlow and the other riders having to adjust their setup, getting an extended Free Practice 3 session to do so. Thanks to some quick laps in FP3, Crutchlow gained direct access to Q2 and subsequently set a 1’44.366 to claim seventh position on the grid.
Cal Crutchlow: “It’s been an emotional day for all of us, and as part of the Rider Safety Commission along with Dorna we took the decision to alter the circuit in the best way we could. I don’t think we did a bad job because it means we are able to race safely, even though the new layout is not great. It is tight, twisty and difficult to get used to, but it was the best solution available.
“The last sector was my best sector yesterday, but we did the best job with it we could today. We have to go into tomorrow quite positive, because I feel ok on the bike despite some setting problems. I’m just a little disappointed not to be on the front row because with just another half a tenth I could be there.”