Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda Castrol) will start Sunday’s Pramac Motorrad Grand Prix Deutschland from P7 after a tight qualifying session, with the British rider improving his pace throughout the weekend – only for a slight mistake in Q2 hampering his front row chances.
“The team did a good job, I feel better with the bike than I did yesterday,” commented Crutchlow, who finished the first practice session down in P19, but managed to improve on Saturday morning to set the third fastest lap in FP3. “Starting on the third row at the Sachsenring is never good, but I made a couple of mistakes which affected my performance. I’m a little disappointed because things are so close, Marc did an incredible lap but was only fourth tenths ahead, which is only one tenth per sector, and I lost two in one.”
The three-time Grand Prix winner has been on a good run of form of late, but a podium has eluded him since his Argentina GP victory. So, what’s the Britons aim for tomorrow? “I have to aim for the top five and see what comes from it, then go from there,” said Crutchlow, who has two podiums at the Sachsenring in his Grand Prix career, most recently in 2016 where he claimed 2nd. “The problem is we need to get up to the lead group straight away because if something happens or breaks up it’s so difficult to bridge the gap… but I think it’s going to be a big battle, a massive battle.”
Can Crutchlow claw his way into podium contention in Sunday’s battle at the Sachsenring?