Ducati’s Cal Crutchlow had a series of near misses while evaluating a new construction of Bridgestone tyres at MotoGP’s Phillip Island test, saying he nearly went over the bars 12 times.

All of the riders have been given eight sets of rubber to try over three days, including one 2013 tyre as a control, and today Crutchlow was testing a new tyre construction which he said gave very little grip. He did, however, set the second quickest time of the day on a different set of hoops.

“The Ducati seems to be going good here, a lot better than it was in Sepang. I seem to be making inroads with what we have, we made some small setting changes with the bike and it seems to be getting better every time we go out,” said Crutchlow, speaking at Phillip Island.

“We used the tyre we used in the race (last year) and I had no problem with that, felt good with it even though the grip was low this morning. We made some changes over lunch and then starting with the new tyres.

“We had the different construction and the other guys had the rubber difference, and trust me the construction difference is a lot worse as I nearly went over the handlebars about 12 times in five laps. It’s good though, at least we can give Bridgestone the information.

“There was no grip at all. My riding style, I like to keep the arc of the corner like Lorenzo so the sidegrip is very important. We are going to swap around tomorrow and maybe it is better.”