Crutchlow defies ‘curse’ for home front row

MotoGP News

Date: 31/08/2013

Cal Crutchlow has made three home British MotoGP appearances and suffered big Saturday accidents on each occasion.

Crutchlow’s 2011 Silverstone debut ended when the Tech 3 Yamaha rider sustained a broken collarbone, while last year saw him sent to the back of the grid after missing qualifying due to a fractured ankle.

The curse continued in 2013 with Crutchlow falling at 185mph on his very first flying lap of the morning. Passed fit by medical staff Crutchlow returned to the circuit - and was thrown down the road again!

“Well that was just a normal Saturday for me at Silverstone! After what happened in 2011 and 2012, the last thing I needed was a crash, so to have two made it even worse,” said Crutchlow, the leading non-factory rider in the World Championship

“Both were very fast crashes and I am thankful not to have been injured, though my right arm is covered in abrasions and is quite painful because of the swelling.

“The first crash was my fault because the front tyre was too cold. And in the second one, with my arm hurting, I just couldn't hold on when the bike starting moving around on the brakes.”

Fortunately Crutchlow turned it around in qualifying, claiming an excellent third place start.

“After all that happened this morning it feels great to be on the front row, but the gap to Marc and Jorge is pretty big and it will be tough to beat them tomorrow. But I'll give it a go, you never know what's going to happen.

“The support from the British crowd today really spurred me on. They've really got behind me and it was a good feeling to bounce back from the crashes to get a front row.”

Honda’s rookie title leader Marc Marquez will start from pole after getting the better of Yamaha’s Jorge Lorenzo by just 0.128s.

A British rider has not finished on the home podium since 2000.

Vettel ‘controls’ Spa, Alonso back in the hunt

F1 News

Date: 25/August/2013

F1 Champion Sebastian Vettel drove into the distance at Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium, winning his fifth race of the season by almost 17 seconds.

The Red Bull star got the better of Mercedes pole sitter Lewis Hamilton after just a few corners and was untouchable thereafter.

Vettel said: “It was fantastic race for us - from start to finish really very good tactics. Obviously it helped on the first lap to have the tow off Lewis through Eau Rouge and then I was flying.

“Once I passed him we had incredible pace and really could control the race until the end.”

Another driver with a memorable first lap was Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso, who surged from ninth to fifth. The Spaniard continued his rise, culminating in clinching second place from Hamilton during the first pit stop.

Although Vettel was out of sight, Alonso in turn pulled ten seconds clear of Hamilton and regained second place in the World Championship standings.

Vettel is 46 points ahead, with eight rounds remaining, but Alonso feels he and Ferrari are back in the fight.

Alonso said: “Today we recovered some of the optimism that we lost and I think it was a good weekend for the championship in terms of feeling and in terms of points as well.

“We cannot forget that in the first five races we were a very competitive team. We won two races and were in a position to fight for the podium every time.

“Then there were some races where we went backwards and lost direction a little bit. We analysed everything and all the things we are now bringing to the races are delivering what we expected, finally.

“The championship is very long. If you have a competitive car and you win four or five consecutive races like Sebastian did last year you recover very quickly.

“Last year  I was leading with 41 points ahead of Sebastian after Monza and I arrived in Texas 15 points behind. Our hopes are to keep developing, to keep improving performance and try to repeat what happened last year the other way around.”

Hamilton’s fifth podium of the season moves him up to third in the Championship, at the expense of Kimi Raikkonen, who suffered his first non-finish since returning to F1 at the start of last season. Raikkonen was side-lined by brake problems with his Lotus.

Marquez masters Brno, but no backing off

MotoGP News

Date: 25/August/2013

Rookie Marc Marquez inflicted a second bruising defeat on MotoGP title rivals Dani Pedrosa and Jorge Lorenzo in the space of a week, at Brno.

Having beaten his more experienced countrymen at Indianapolis, Marquez repeated the feat despite stiffer opposition in the Czech Republic.

Reigning double World Champion Jorge Lorenzo held control for the majority of the 22-lap race and successfully repelled Marquez’s first attack. But Marquez wasn’t to be denied and made what would be his victory pass with four laps to go.

Pedrosa, having been in Marquez’s wheel tracks throughout the race, demoted Lorenzo to third a lap later. Pedrosa then set his sights on Marquez, finishing just 0.3s behind at the chequered flag.

“I'm so happy! Before we came here I didn't expect to win, because Jorge and Valentino had both tested at Brno recently and Dani is always so fast here and won the race last year,” said Marquez.

“The battle with Jorge was really good and we are pleased with the victory.”

It was Marquez’s fourth win in a row and fifth of the season, pushing his Championship lead over Pedrosa to 26 points, more than one race win.

Marquez insisted he will not change his approach in the remaining rounds:

“My personality is always to attack. There are still seven races to go, so we need to keep pushing. Dani and Jorge are both so strong, but especially Dani I think will be the most dangerous.”

While Lorenzo could take some comfort from being by far the best of the Yamaha riders, Pedrosa has equal machinery to Marquez.

“I just needed another lap in order to catch him. We had a good chance but couldn't take it,” Pedrosa admitted.

“Obviously Marc is in a very good moment now, winning four races in a row is impressive. But we made a good step here and now we need to focus on the upcoming races.”

Lorenzo has now dropped 44 points behind Marquez, leaving his title defence on the ropes.

"I am really disappointed because I feel in the best shape of my career but I cannot defend against the Hondas,” he said. “But I’m proud because I'm doing the best job I can do. The championship is not lost yet but it's very difficult now."

The British Grand Prix at Silverstone takes place this weekend.

Fab four for Hamilton at Spa

F1 News

Date: 24/August/2013

Lewis Hamilton made its four F1 pole positions in a row after emerging on top of a thrilling qualifying session for the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps.

Rain showers kept the drivers on their toes until the end, with Force India’s Paul Di Resta holding the advantage until a last-gasp improvement in conditions saw Mark Webber, then Sebastian Vettel and finally Hamilton claim pole.

Hamilton, who took his first Mercedes victory just before the summer break, said: “When I started the lap, I saw on the screen that I was about seventh or eighth and I thought ‘Oh my God’, especially as it was raining more.

“Then I went wide in turn one and my dashboard was really confusing me in terms of whether I was up or down on my previous lap. I pushed quite a lot in the middle sector particularly as I thought I was down three seconds. I was really caning it!

“I can’t remember the last time I crossed the line and had such a good feeling. I was looking for the TV screens and I could see the team was cheering so I couldn’t believe it. It’s just crazy to think that this is my 31st pole and it still feels like it’s the first one. It’s just an incredible feeling and I’m very grateful to be here today.”

The Red Bulls had looked especially strong during free practice, but Hamilton feels he has a fighting chance in the race.

“I think this weekend they’ve both shown incredible pace. But I’m hoping that whatever the conditions tomorrow we can try to fight it out with them. I generally feel we’re quite close.

“I still feel the Red Bull is a little bit ahead of us and that’s why results like this today feel even better, because it feels like we extracted more than what the car can actually do, so I’m really happy with it.”

Vettel starts round eleven of 19 with a 38-point lead over Lotus driver Kimi Raikkonen, with Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso a further point behind. Raikkonen and Alonso will start eighth and ninth respectively.

Hamilton is nine points behind Alonso in the standings.

Crutchlow shows Yamaha what they’ll be missing

MotoGP News

Date: 24/August/2013

Cal Crutchlow gave Yamaha a taste of what they’ll be missing next season as he snatched his second MotoGP pole at Brno.

Overlooked for full factory status at Yamaha, satellite Tech 3 rider Crutchlow is leaving to join Ducati’s official team at the end of this year.

The Englishman was the only M1 rider in the top four during qualifying in Czech Republic, with Yamaha’s World Champion Jorge Lorenzo 0.442s slower in fifth.

Crutchlow’s first grand prix pole came at Assen earlier this year, when Lorenzo was absent through injury.

Crutchlow said: “It’s nice to take a true pole, because I felt Assen wasn’t with Jorge not able to ride. So to battle and be the top Yamaha today is probably the best thing.

“I’m looking forward to the race tomorrow; hopefully we can aim for the podium, that’s the key in these three races and then go to my home race at Silverstone strong.”

Crutchlow is fifth in the World Championship, with four podiums so far this year. His first rostrum came at Brno last year.

Alvaro Bautista and Marc Marquez will join Crutchlow on the front row, with Marquez’s title rivals Dani Pedrosa and Lorenzo heading row two.