Before his home race at the GoPro British Grand Prix, Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda Castrol) said he’s out to win. On paper, Friday couldn’t have started much better after finishing just 0.005 seconds behind pacesetter Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team).
With this result, you’d think the British rider was happy with his feeling and setup on his Honda machine, however this isn’t entirely the case: “I’m disappointed a bit with the day because I didn’t feel fantastic with the bike,” admitted Crutchlow, although he did acknowledge that he’s still able to go fast – a sure sign that when the feeling hopefully arrives, he’ll be challenging for that illusive top spot.
“Overall the position was okay. I’m able to go fast, which is always a good thing, but we need to improve the feeling with the bike. I have two completely different setups on the bike at the moment, so we need to look at that and start to improve tomorrow, if the track is dry. But Sunday is looking a disaster for the weather at the moment. We’ll see what tomorrow brings.”
As is to be expected on British shores, the rain is set to play a part in proceedings, with forecasts predicting the heavens will open on Sunday. Crutchlow though is hoping the wet weather stays away as he’s feeling confident he can challenge for a second victory of the season if conditions stay dry.
“I want to improve as much as possible, but I think I have a chance of winning on Sunday. There’s no doubt about that. I hope it stays dry because in the rain, in the last couple of years, we’ve not been fantastic.”
Fresh from a new deal and with the hopes of a nation resting on his shoulders, can the Argentina GP winner take pole position on Saturday, just like he did in 2016?