Crutchlow: We have to push the front so hard

Like the other Honda riders Cal Crutchlow has had a difficult year with the Englishman having strong results when the bike has been able to produce grip but struggling for much of the campaign. Motegi is filled with heavy braking and acceleration zones and will test the weaknesses of the RC213v. 

Speaking ahead of the opening day of practice Crutchlow felt that controlling the bike on the exit of corners will be the biggest challenge for him this weekend but that the front end woes of this year could continue to make things difficult for the Japanese manufacturer.

“We’ve seen how much we have to push the front,” said Crutchlow. “The Honda riders are crashing because we have to push too hard because we have no rear grip. Maybe we will be able to push a little bit more this weekend than the Yamaha, but our problem will be mainly the wheelie. We have so much wheelie with the Honda that it’s really difficult to control, and we are shutting a lot in the straights. So this will be a difficult thing this weekend, that’ll be our main issue.”

This weekend will mark Crutchlow’s first outing on a Honda in Japan and it’s something that he’s looking forward to sampling.

“I think there’s always something special about riding a Honda at Motegi, and the history of it. I’m looking forward to the race weekend, we’ll take it as it comes, see how we can get on. We definitely need to progress this weekend and see if we can get some results.”