MotoGP News
Date:
28/June/2013
Cal Crutchlow became the first British rider to take a
MotoGP pole in over ten years at Assen, in Holland on Friday.
The satellite Yamaha star, a frequent pole contender since
the start of last season, finally prevailed by three-tenths of a second over
Honda rookie Marc Marquez after a last-lap charge.
But Crutchlow was quick to admit that his task had been made
easier by the absence of World Champion Jorge Lorenzo, who broke his left
collarbone on Thursday.
Crutchlow, 27, said: “It feels fantastic to have finally got
my first pole position in MotoGP. It might have been a different story if Jorge
wasn’t injured.
“It would have been good to have a dogfight for pole with
Jorge because it was obvious before his crash that he was going to be the man
to beat. Hopefully at some stage this year I’ll be having a battle with him for
the win.”
Amazingly, Crutchlow could yet find himself on track with
Lorenzo on Saturday.
The Spaniard had returned to Barcelona for surgery in the
early hours of Friday morning, but then headed back to Assen in the evening.
Yamaha state that Lorenzo is simply aiming “to spend the
remainder of the Grand Prix weekend with his team” but it is clear he intends
to try and race, to limit the Championship damage.
Lorenzo has won three of the six races this year and is just
seven points behind Dani Pedrosa and the title lead. However Lorenzo will need
to pass a medical check before he is able to take part in the race and his
chances seem at best 50/50.
Should Lorenzo be given the green light he would be eligible
to start from twelfth on the grid, having already claimed a place in the final
part of qualifying courtesy of his Thursday practice time.
Pedrosa will start from fifth place, having fallen without
harm during qualifying.
Team-mate Marquez has also taken a tumble this weekend,
suffering fractures to his finger and toe in a Friday morning crash.
But that is nothing compared to Lorenzo, whose Friday
surgery involved the insertion of a titanium plate with eight screws to hold
the pieces of his collarbone in place.
Regardless of whether he is allowed to race, Lorenzo’s very
attempt shows just how badly he wants a third MotoGP crown.
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