A weekend that had promised so much for LCR Honda rider Cal Crutchlow ended in disappointment as he crashed out of the Spanish Grand Prix on Sunday. The Briton had performed superbly in Saturday’s qualifying to earn a place on the front row of the grid, but he saw his hopes of a podium finish evaporate after an early fall in Jerez.

Crutchlow had made a solid start to the race and had settled into fourth place just behind Marc Marquez and Johann Zarco when disaster struck on lap six. The LCR man lost the front end at turn 11 and went down heavily, although thankfully walked away unhurt from the fall. Fellow Honda riders Dani Pedrosa and Marc Marquez finished first and second respectively, with Jorge Lorenzo completing the podium.

A frustrated Crutchlow admitted that it was a real opportunity missed after such a positive weekend prior to the race, but insisted he remains confident ahead of the next round in France. 

#35 Cal Crutchlow – DNF

“I’m obviously very disappointed with today’s result. I felt strong in the race and felt like I was managing the situation and the tyre very well. I was close to Marc (Marquez) and we had good pace. But, unfortunately, on lap six I went into turn 11 carrying good corner speed - just as I had done the lap before – but when I went to open the throttle the front tyre closed.

“It was a mistake, but we have to keep the confidence we’ve built up for the next round in Le Mans which I think will be better for us. Today I had a missed opportunity of a podium and I’m disappointed for myself and my team, but we have to regroup and discuss some things with Honda before the next race.”