Qatar GP – Crutchlow (4th): "Honda did a fantastic job on the engine"

Cal Crutchlow kicks off the 2018 MotoGP season with a strong fourth place at the 2018 Qatar Grand Prix, ending his painful series of crashes during this opening race ! Debriefing.

Cal Crutchlow, Honda-LCR (4th in qualifying and 4th in race) : "I’m happy. Honestly, the goal today was the podium, but the other goal was also to collect points, something that we had not achieved on this circuit the two previous seasons. , because the championship is long ".

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• Qatar GP :
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“My team did a great job this winter, as did Honda: they did a fantastic job on the engine which allowed us to be a little more competitive, especially in the straight. Now congratulations to the three guys on the podium because they had a great race, very fun ".

"But the leading group fell apart when I got behind Zarco: the first three ran away, and when I passed them I was no longer able to catch up with them. I had the same pace as the leaders, so I didn’t go back on them but I didn’t lose them either. So I decided to secure the 13 points for 4th place. ".

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• Qatar GP –
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Site analysis : Very good race by Cal Crutchlow, fourth in this 2018 Qatar Grand Prix, 2.881 sec from the winner. Although a little disappointed to have missed the podium, the LCR driver is delighted to finally score points in Qatar, after having finished on the ground the two previous editions. !

The native of Conventry is all the more satisfied that a fall Sunday morning during the warm-up had somewhat damaged his confidence, which explains his cautious first laps. The No.35, however, threw itself into battle quickly with the energy and aggressiveness that characterize it, making speak the power of its Honda to seek the outposts..

Recall that Cal Crutchlow has direct support from the HRC, unlike his debutant teammate Takaaki Nakagama who finished 17th. And this was verified in the race, especially from a mechanical point of view since his Honda won the third best V-max (347.6 km / h) behind the Ducati of Petrucci (351.9 km / h) and Dovizioso (350.3 km / h) !

What to give balm to the heart to this 33-year-old driver, whose last season proved to be below the expectations placed on him … With only one podium signed in and a long one, Crutchlow is indeed far from having validated the hopes that his two successes of 2016 had raised.

This brilliantly negotiated start to the 2018 season therefore augurs well for a better campaign for the LCR driver, who was particularly fast and physically sharp during the . 

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