Cal Crutchlow’s positive weekend at the French Grand Prix continued into qualifying as he put himself on the third row for Sunday’s race at the legendary Le Mans circuit. The LCR Honda rider felt he could have been even higher up the grid, but for a technical issue that meant he only got one full flying lap in during the 15-minute qualifying final. Progress during the morning free practice session meant that the Brit didn’t have to go through the lottery of preliminary qualifying, however when he then went out for the grid shootout, a severe vibration from his bike forced him straight back into the pits. Having then gone out on a new set of tyres with new brakes, the braking system hadn’t quite bedded in, preventing him riding to his full potential. Crutchlow is nonetheless positive about his chances in Sunday’s race, with the overall feeling on board his factory spec Honda RC213V much improved compared to previous events.

Cal Crutchlow:
“Today was a better day and I felt quite good during FP3 and FP4. The bike was working well and our pace wasn’t too bad, however when I went out for qualifying and I had a massive vibration with the front. When I was on the bike I wasn’t sure where it was coming from, and although you could still ride it, I would have risked crashing. We’re still investigating it now. I came back in and went back out on a new tyre, with new brakes, but the system needed more bleeding and I did my lap with the brake lever almost back to the handlebar. I tried to ride around it by braking earlier and carrying more corner speed, so in the end we’re ninth on the grid, just because of a bit of bad luck in having an unexpected tyre change. It’s disappointing to be where we are, but we work together as a team and with Michelin and these things happen sometimes. It’s going to be a warzone tomorrow I reckon because there are a lots of riders in a similar pace! I’m excited about it because I’m riding the bike well and feel in good shape. It is better than it looks.”

 

Results Q1 + Q2 combined:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

source: motogp.com, lcr.mc