Crutchlow: 'That's the reality of MotoGP', back for Aragon
Qualifying down in 19th ultimately hurt Cal Crutchlow's chances of breaking into the points on his debut for the factory Yamaha team at his home British MotoGP.
Returning to MotoGP in place of Petronas Yamaha's Franco Morbidelli at the previous Austrian rounds, test rider Crutchlow was then moved to the official Monster team after Maverick Vinales' sudden exit.
That meant upgrading from the 2019 A-spec to the 2021 factory-spec bike, but the end result remained 17th place.
"I was actually pleased with the race, not pleased with the position obviously, but that's what happens when you start at the back," Crutchlow said.
"I was battling with the Ducatis of Bastianini and Marini and that's the problem, the bikes are so fast in the straight, you have to open the throttle earlier, so you use more of the rear tyre. As we saw with Fabio, when he's at the front he just goes because he can ride his own lines.
"I also had a high front tyre temperature for 10 laps of the race when I was behind them, then I locked the front and went wide, and then it was perfect – but by then the rear tyre was destroyed!
"We had a really tough time with the rear tyre, as did other riders and I think I managed it well.
"To give some comparison, from what I remember, my last lap of the race today was [1.1s] faster than I did on the last lap when I got the podium here [in 2016] and I was battling then.
"That's the reality of MotoGP. Everybody is so fast, everybody is on good bikes.
"Overall I was quite pleased. My pace was okay. But they've got the experience and they are going faster now. And I shouldn't have started at the back of the grid, which is my own fault!
"We understood a lot about the bike which is a key thing. Yes, I destroyed the rear tyre but so do a lot of other guys. I think we managed it quite well."
Initially signing up for three rounds, Crutchlow confirmed that he will now remain alongside title leader and Silverstone winner Fabio Quartararo next time at Aragon.
Franco Morbidelli is then due to take over the factory seat at Misano, when Crutchlow will return to test riding duties and development of the 2022 M1.
One of the technical issues that emerged during the Silverstone weekend was a lack of bike stability.
"Wind from the other bikes makes ours shake. If you watch Fabio’s, his was not stable either but we need to work out why the others were stable. The Ducati, Suzuki and Aprilia doesn’t shake," he said.
"I was shaking a lot more but we don’t understand why. I was losing a lot of time in that area. Then when the rear tyre drops it shakes even more. It didn’t matter what setting we put in the bike.
"It was a long race and sometimes scary, if you go into Turn 2 where Marc crashed the other day and the bike is lock-to-lock shaking you have no brakes! In qualifying I had brand new tyres and just threw it in.
"Anyway, pleased with the way we worked. What can I say? I was 17th, but still the second Yamaha!"
Petronas riders Valentino Rossi and Jake Dixon were 18th and 19th after also struggling with a big drop in tyre performance.
