Britain’s Cal Crutchlow sliced half a second off his best laptime on the final day of MotoGP testing at Sepang but is unhappy as he isn’t as comfortable as he would like trying to set a fast time on a new tyre.
The CWM-LCR Honda man is pleased with his performance on used tyres but says he should have cut his single-lap time by a more significant margin. However, he tempered that by saying in a race situation, the front runners wouldn’t immediately clear off.
“I was not happy with my laptime but I was definitely pushing. I was unable to take any advantage again, typical of me when I don’t feel comfortable with bike and take big risks like the other guys.
“I took half a second off but I should have taken a lot more off. I can still go quite fast with the used tyres and be a lot more competitive. I don’t think the position and the laptime are relevant to where we would be if we raced today or tomorrow, and we are definitely a lot closer to the other Honda riders on used tyres than what we are over one lap.
“We made some positive steps with the engine braking but we have tried some other things today, trying to turn the bike and me in a different position on the bike. We didn’t do so many fast laps, we have had other things we have been working on.
“There are plenty of good things about the bike but it’s me adapting and taking advantage of those points, and keep working as I am not taking that advantage. I want to build into the season but if it came to race they wouldn’t take that 1.6s on the first lap.
“You have to be a lot smoother opening the throttle but a lot more aggressive going into the corner and on the brake, a lot more. How you brake with the bike is strange but it makes the bike stop a lot better.”
