Le Mans MotoGP: Cal Crutchlow bemoans first DNF

Cal Crutchlow was left to rue a small mistake early in yesterday’s French MotoGP race that he believes cost him the chance to score his first premier class top six in Le Mans.

The British rider was putting 2009 World Superbike champion Ben Spies under severe pressure in a battle for eighth position when he lost the front of his Monster Tech 3 Yamaha YZR-M1 machine at Turn 6 on the sixth lap.

Crutchlow was able to remount but he couldn’t continue in the race because the throttle on his YZR-M1 was stuck open.

Crutchlow, who had claimed a stunning sixth place on the grid for the 28-lap clash, said: “I’m pretty disappointed because looking at how the race panned out I could have been in sixth place because when I crashed I was having a good battle with Ben. I’d caught him quite easily and was looking forward to a good race when I made a stupid little mistake in Turn 6.”

“I touched the kerb and I lost the front. I literally fell off the side of the bike and that was it. It is disappointing because I had the pace to get another top eight but these things can happen when you’re pushing so hard in a competitive class like MotoGP. I managed to get back on the bike but there was a problem with the throttle, so it was impossible for me to carry on. I showed my raw speed all weekend so I’m not going to be too hard on myself, though I was desperate to get a good result.”