Crutchlow 1.6 Seconds Off British GP Win as Marquez Stops

Local-hero Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda RC213V) played his part in a thrilling battle for victory in today’s British Grand Prix, finally finishing in fourth place, just 1.6 seconds behind winner Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati) and nine tenths off the podium.

Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team RC213V) was also in the hunt for victory, establishing a new lap record, only for his machine to strike a rare technical issue when he was in a close third place with six and a half of the 20 laps remaining. The reigning World Champion’s DNF loses him the series lead, putting him nine points behind Dovizioso with six of 18 races remaining. Just 26 points separate the top four in the championship: Dovizioso and Marquez, then Maverick Vinales (Yamaha) and Valentino Rossi (Yamaha), making this one of the closest, most thrilling championships in motorcycle-racing history.

Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda Team RC213V) completed a difficult weekend, during which he struggled to get his tires to work at their best, with a seventh-place finish. 

The 12th race of the 2017 MotoGP season was another thriller with Marquez, Crutchlow, Dovizioso and Vinales chasing Rossi, who led more than the first three-quarters of the race. Shortly after half distance the tension really began to build as Marquez and Dovizioso closed on the leader, but then Marquez’s race was over, the three-times MotoGP champion pulling off the track at Stowe corner, then returning to his pit, from where he watched the final laps.

That left Crutchlow, last year’s runner-up here, as Honda’s best hope. The 31-year-old Briton had started the race from the front row, alongside Rossi and pole-starter Marquez, then spent the whole race with the lead group. However, he could never quite make the move he needed to get himself into a podium position. Nonetheless the twice MotoGP winner was happy with his pace, finishing less than a second outside from a top-three result.

Pedrosa had finished on the podium at the previous three races but couldn’t turn that into four on the trot today. The 31-year-old Spaniard is the lightest rider on the grid, which has caused him problems, especially at Silverstone, one of MotoGP’s bumpiest tracks, where he lacks traction and grip stability.

Tito Rabat (Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS Honda RC213V) recovered from a challenging two days of practice and qualifying to take a 12th-place finish, his best result since June’s Dutch TT. The Spaniard’s team-mate Jack Miller (Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS Honda RC213V) had a more complicated race day, completing the British GP in 16th, one position outside World Championship points.

MotoGP now returns to the Continent for the San Marino and Aragon Grands Prix before embarking on its annual flyway adventure to the Asia-Pacific region, with races in Japan, Australia and Malaysia. The season concludes at Valencia in Spain.

Cal Crutchlow

“I came here to win, like I always do. I went well here last year and I felt good all weekend this time, but I just didn’t have it at the end of the race – the others were quicker – so the result is a bit disappointing. The hardest front was too soft for us – we need to be one harder. In the end I struggled with spinning the rear – I had to use spin to turn the bike because I couldn’t use the front tire so much. I tried playing with the maps a bit, but in the end we didn’t make the podium at what’s a special race for us. We will go to Misano with our heads held high and see how we go there – it’s a bit swings and roundabouts from one track to the next this year.”

Dani Pedrosa

“The whole weekend has been quite difficult for us at this track, but the team tried to give me the best bike possible and I tried to do my best in the race. I really gave it my all and actually my pace was better than in practice, almost one second faster compared to the rest of the weekend. Unfortunately, that wasn’t enough to stay with the front group, but I’ll take the positive part – the fact that we managed to improve a little. We have the same gap to the top in the championship, so we’ll put this race behind us and work to be stronger and to fight at the front in the next races.”

Tito Rabat

“I made a fast start and this gave me the opportunity for a good race after some positive steps with the set-up in the warm-up solved a lot of my problems. I had a good feeling with the rear tire from first lap and could push and do fast times even when I was riding alone. I am very happy with this result after a difficult weekend and now I'm looking forward to Misano.”

Jack Miller

“In the race I struggled to find rear drive grip and it is not easy to understand why, maybe it was because of the hotter track temperatures compared to practice and qualifying. It is a real shame and I’m very disappointed with this race. This should have been a great day to pick up some points and now we just have to keep working to recover from this slump at the next race.”

Marc Marquez

“Today was really unlucky, as I was feeling very good on the bike and was there with the others, just trying to manage the race and tires, especially the front as the temperature was higher than yesterday and I wanted to save it to attack in the end. I had already seen that Dovi had something more than Vinales and Rossi, but I thought I could try and fight with him. So, everything was going well when I suddenly had a problem with the engine at the end of the straight. It’s a shame of course but that’s something that can happen in racing, and it was the first time for me with Honda. The positives are that we were fast here, as we have been at other tracks, and that we’re still there in the championship. Zero points today, but I’m still feeling good with the bike and am looking forward to the next races.”