Crutchlow: It’s going to be a strange year

Cal Crutchlow reiterated his belief that 2018 could be his best yet in the MotoGP class after finishing the second preseason test of the year with the fourth fastest time, and feels the recent three-day outing in Thailand proves a “strange” season lies ahead.

The 32-year old saw his fortunes contrast day-to-day in the searing heat at the Chang International Circuit, with initial good impressions of his 2018 package – and new HRC motor – backed up by the fastest time on Friday. Yet a day later he was back in tenth.

The topsy-turvy nature of what was a largely positive test for the Englishman and his LCR Honda team, coupled with the closeness of the final lap times (one second covered the top 20 on Friday) underlines the current nature of the premier class, which is now as competitive as ever.

A difficult Saturday aside, and Crutchlow was usually toward the front, with his assessment of the newest HRC motor at Sepang confirmed here. More power and improved acceleration led him to comment the motor is “very, very strong.”

Honda’s strength was apparent when reading the timesheets and the lap-by-lap analysis, with Marc Marquez the clear pace setter. But Dani Pedrosa – fastest overall – and Crutchlow were never far away, leading the two-time premier class race winner to re-state the year ahead could be his best season in MotoGP to date.

“I do [think it could be my best year], yes. I really do. It just depends how close it is, honestly. I think a lot of people’s best years in MotoGP are not when you can win one week, and finish tenth the next. It’s when you can be consistently there.

“At the moment, it looks like you can be – I don’t know where I was yesterday – tenth on one day, and I was first the day before. That’s the way it looks at the moment. It’s going to be a strange championship.”

Ex-team-mate Andrea Dovizioso was cautious when using the test at the Chang International Circuit as a gauge for the year ahead, stating the hot temperatures, tyre situation, and fairly unique track layout did not show the full “reality.”

Crutchlow, however, feels the names fighting toward the front in Thailand will be the players during the upcoming 19 races. “I think the names are all the same,” he said. “Except for Taka [team-mate Takaaki Nakagami].

“Taka was fast on every tyre we’ve used. The only one he wasn’t fast on was the tyre we’re going to race [here]. But he has no previous experience of it. But that doesn’t mean he’ll be slow when it comes to the race, because he’ll have learnt by then.

“It’s going to be way worse for us as riders because it’s going to be closer than previous years. We hate that [even though] sometimes, of course, we like the battle.”

On his performance over the final day, Crutchlow said, “I tested three tyres for Michelin this test. Two of the rears were based on the Austria tyre. Neither of them were fantastic but it looks as though they’ll be the race tyre for here.

“When I did three runs on it – I couldn’t do a long run because there was no front tyre. There weren’t so many front tyres in our allocation that would work on our bike. That’s been the problem. So then when you have a test tyre for the rear but you have no fronts left, what do you do?

“The bike worked well. The team worked really well today. We didn’t have a great day yesterday. We were busy. We made some mistakes as a team. Me on the track, I never crashed, but was just not riding great. Today was a lot better.”

On Sunday Marquez admitted to testing a new carbon swingarm since Valencia, while Pedrosa first sampled it at Sepang. Crutchlow revealed his is yet to sample the component, but is hopeful of receiving it soon.

“I still think we need to improve in some areas,” he said. “Our bike is essentially the same. The factory team, as I’m sure you’re aware, have something different to me at the moment.

“I can’t tell you what I’m talking about but I don’t know when I’ll get any update. At the moment, I’m happy with what I’ve got. The bike is working well but I think it could work better in some areas.

“But the engine is very, very strong, which is a positive for us. It’s really only one of the changes on the bike. We have to continue in the way we’re working, give them the information, and we’re pleased with this Thailand test.”