"Stupid of me" - Cal Crutchlow explains €1000 fine at Brno MotoGP
Friday practice at the Brno MotoGP saw a lap time milestone and then a €1000 fine for Cal Crutchlow.
Former Brno MotoGP winner Cal Crutchlow said he didn’t expect to set his fastest-ever lap of the Czech circuit as a 40-year-old, making a temporary injury-replacement return at LCR.
Bike development since Crutchlow’s previous 2020 appearance and especially the ultra-grippy Brno asphalt played a major role in the Englishman’s pace.
“My fastest ever lap around Brno. New tarmac, yes. But it's new tarmac for the others as well,” Crutchlow said.
“At the end of the day, I never thought I'd be going to a circuit and going faster than I ever have before at 40 years old and with not much time on the bike!
“The track has got so much grip. I don't really like riding when it's like that, because you just go from zero to 100% throttle.
“I like to manage the throttle, feel t in the middle of the corner, then open when I want.
“You can't do that. You literally go around the corner and just blast. I'm like, ‘oh, I can go now’. And it's already one second too late.
“But it was a good enough day.”
Crutchlow finished Friday practice at the back of the field, 2.1s from pacesetter Ai Ogura and 0.45s from closest full-time rider Toprak Razgatlioglu.
€1000 fine for practice start error
Crutchlow was then one of two riders, alongside championship leader Marco Bezzecchi, to be fined €1000 for a breach of the practice start protocol.
“I did the practice start procedure wrong. And listen, I fully agree with the rule,” Crutchlow said.
“I moved forward, and then you're not allowed to stop again because if somebody's behind you, they could hit the back of you.
“I did check that there was no one behind me, but I still moved forward [and stopped] because I couldn't put the stupid front device down.”
Ironically, some riders were deliberately not using the front holeshot device during Friday's practice starts as MotoGP considers an early ban.
“So it cost me 1000 Euros to do a sh*t start, with a front device that's going to be taken away soon anyway!” Crutchlow quipped.
Told that Bezzecchi had been punished for the same offence, the Englishman replied:
“I know, and he should know better because he's been doing it for God knows how long!
“But yeah, stupid of me...”
Crutchlow went on to knock two more tenths from his best-ever Brno lap in Saturday’s qualifying.
A penalty for Razgatlioglu means Crutchlow will move forward one place, from last on the grid, for Sunday's grand prix.
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