Cal Crutchlow picked up where he left off in France as he was straight back on the pace in the opening free practice sessions for the Aragon Grand Prix. Although he failed to finish last Sunday’s race at Le Mans, the LCR Honda CASTROL rider showed his speed all weekend and was amongst the frontrunners again in Spain on Friday as he ended in fifth place overall.
With freezing cold conditions complicating matters for the premier class riders, Crutchlow made a sound start in a delayed FP1 session as he posted the ninth fastest lap. Times improved in FP2 as things warmed up a little and Crutchlow ensured he was well-placed ahead of qualifying on Saturday by going fifth quickest, ending as the leading Honda rider.
Cal Crutchlow – 5th (1’48.598)
“It was really cold here in Aragon today. Obviously, we had a delay to the first session which I think was the right decision given the Grand Prix bikes and the Michelin tyres characteristics. It seems very difficult to get heat into them which we know from experience over the years, so the race direction did a good job. Once the sessions got underway I felt quite good, I was comfortable enough and quite confident with the bike, although it was shaking a lot moving around and we need to improve that area for tomorrow. We’re a long way off the lap times of a normal race weekend because of the temperature, but it was a good day for the team and we look forward to tomorrow now.”
Results FP2:
| Pos | Rider | Team | Fastest lap |
| 1 | Maverick VIÑALES | Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP | 1’47.771 |
| 2 | Fabio QUARTARARO | Petronas Yamaha SRT | 1’48.020 |
| 3 | Franco MORBIDELLI | Petronas Yamaha SRT | 1’48.218 |
| 4 | Joan MIR | Team SUZUKI ECSTAR | 1’48.501 |
| 5 | Cal CRUTCHLOW | LCR Honda CASTROL | 1’48.598 |
| 6 | Aleix ESPARGARO | Aprilia Racing Team Gresini | 1’48.670 |
| 7 | Pol ESPARGARO | Red Bull KTM Factory Racing | 1’48.746 |
| 8 | Alex MARQUEZ | Repsol Honda Team | 1’48.823 |
| 9 | Takaaki NAKAGAMI | LCR Honda IDEMITSU | 1’48.824 |
| 10 | Alex RINS | Team SUZUKI ECSTAR | 1’48.839 |
| 11 | Johann ZARCO | Esponsorama Racing | 1’48.906 |
| 12 | Tito RABAT | Esponsorama Racing | 1’49.003 |
| 13 | Andrea DOVIZIOSO | Ducati Team | 1’49.015 |
| 14 | Jack MILLER | Pramac Racing | 1’49.026 |
| 15 | Danilo PETRUCCI | Ducati Team | 1’49.107 |
| 16 | Iker LECUONA | Red Bull KTM Tech 3 | 1’49.165 |
| 17 | Miguel OLIVEIRA | Red Bull KTM Tech 3 | 1’49.208 |
| 18 | Bradley SMITH | Aprilia Racing Team Gresini | 1’49.258 |
| 19 | Francesco BAGNAIA | Pramac Racing | 1’49.488 |
| 20 | Stefan BRADL | Repsol Honda Team | 1’50.091 |
| 21 | Brad BINDER | Red Bull KTM Factory Racing | 1’50.244 |
Source: motogp.com, lcr.mc