Analyzes – Argentinian GP 2019: the anger of Crutchlow (13th) … –

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Argentinian GP 2019: the wrath of Crutchlow (13th)…

Analyzes - Argentinian GP 2019: the anger of Crutchlow (13th) ... -

Hard Argentinian GP for Cal Crutchlow: qualified 8th yesterday at Termas de Rio Hondo with great ambitions, the LCR Honda rider receives a severe penalty – but fair, really? – which forces him to return to the pits and finish far from his objectives… Debriefing.

Cal Crutchlow, LCR Honda (8th in qualifying and 13th in race)

Starting 8th on the grid – just ahead of his teammate Takaaki Nakagami – Cal Crutchlow had to be content with a 13th place which was not up to his expectations … nor his abilities. Believing that he had broken the rules by moving very lightly on the grid, the marshals imposed a particularly severe penalty on him: the LCR Honda rider had to pass through the pit lane again during the race ("ride through"), which forced him to race far behind.

  • Argentinian GP :
  • Argentinian GP :
  • Argentinian GP :
  • Qualifications :
  • MNC special file :

Difficult to detect with the naked eye but indisputable – and undisputed – this movement has cost him dearly. Very expensive … Too expensive? In any case, this is what the pilot and his team believe, especially as Nakagami finished 7th.

"Much too severe"

"I am really very disappointed by the behavior of the race direction towards us", deplores Lucio Cecchinello, team manager without questioning the movement on the grid but the severity of the sanction: "the penalty imposed on Cal is extremely hard, because its movement at the start was really insignificant. We are talking about 1.5 cm, maximum 2 cm (come on, maybe 5 or 6, Editor’s note), it is really nothing. Unfortunately, we cannot do big "Something, apart from expressing our thoughts at the next committee meeting: the penalty for this type of offense is far too severe. There is no correlation between the potential gain of a few centimeters and the penalty of 30 seconds. is really disappointed but we have to deal with it and concentrate for the next race in Texas ".

The British driver, known not to have his tongue in his pocket, was boiling with rage yesterday at the arrival of the Argentine GP, even if he tries today to make against bad luck a good heart.

"Totally disagree"

“First of all I want to thank my team for a positive weekend and race pace. I think we showed today that we could have fought for the podium and that we probably would have secured a second place. Safe. The marshals said that I stole the start, which I totally disagree with, like my team, and we are disappointed with this penalty ".

“But we accept the situation… We had to do a ride through and then I did the best job I could for the rest of the race with a good pace. Now I’m looking forward to Texas where we plan to do another good race ".

Site Analysis : The disappointment is understandable for Cal Crutchlow and his team, if not perfectly legitimate. Not only did he not gain any advantage from this very slight movement on the grid, but he did not endanger the other drivers either … Not to mention that with his regular lap times in 1’40, he second fastest driver in the race behind Marquez.

So yes, the rules are the rules … But one can wonder why the ("long lap penalty") was not preferred to the traditional "ride through". According to the officials, this new form of penalty would indeed make it possible to make the faulty driver lose "between 2 and 5 seconds depending on the circuits", instead of 20 to 30 seconds for a pit stop. For such a slight "fault", the sanction would undoubtedly have been better accepted..

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