Yes, it really happened! Cal Crutchlow won our first British victory for 35 years at the Czech GP.
Czech GP Race Report
After the miraculous medal haul we brought back from Rio this summer, you might think that British sport just couldn’t get any better in 2016. Well, the Czech GP proved us all wrong!
We can hardly believe it ourselves, but pinch yourself and wake up because Cal Crutchlow has put the cherry on top of our summer sporting cake. The 30 year old from Coventry just bagged the first British MotoGP win in the premier class for 35 years.
Such an occasion calls for a different blog format: this race report will focus mainly on the superb British performance in the Czech MotoGP, and the usual champions will be relegated to the end of the blog. Sorry, Rossi fans, but this deserves a celebration!
So how did this miracle happen?
Once again, it was a wet track in Brno that opened up the Czech GP to unusual contenders. Though the Spanish and Italian champions started on the front two rows, the weather made tyres count for more than experience and prestige.
Just to demonstrate this point, Crutchlow started from a miserable 10th on the grid, and battled all the way up the field to take his maiden win.
It was the first wet race at Brno, and most riders had chosen soft or intermediate tyres which they expected to run to the pits and change when the track dried. Crutchlow, however, took a gamble with hard front and rear.
Crutchlow started to edge forward after 10 laps, when it was clear that the other riders were not going to pit early and change their bikes. Once he got the momentum going, Cal was unstoppable, executing a series of perfect overtakes.
Cal’s tyre gamble pays off
It was Cal’s choice of tyres that kept him powering on, and he built the speed so quickly that he was faster than the leading pack with 10 laps to go. He blasted into third, overtook his compatriot Scott Redding and got to second place behind the Factory Ducati of Iannone.
Andrea Iannone, last round’s winner, had been leading for most of the race – but with 7 laps to go, it was clear that his tyres had started to give up. He finally buckled under the pressure of Crutchlow’s challenge and fell back, leaving Cal in the lead.
Now Crutchlow just had to hold on for four more laps, with the title contenders chasing him down. Incredibly, he crossed the line over seven seconds ahead of the legend Valentino Rossi, with Marc Marquez in third place.
Bringing it home for Britain
Can you believe that Barry Sheene was our last winner? With excellent judgement, bravery and a little bit of luck, Cal Crutchlow silenced the doubters and ended a 35-year wait for a British MotoGP champion. We actually got a little bit emotional there… give us a minute!
What makes his victory even sweeter is that Cal became a father for the first time on the 2nd of August this year. Fatherhood clearly suits him very well.
After the race, he said: “The biggest emotion I ever had was three weeks ago when Willow was born – having said that it’s the best day of my racing career. But I’m really really pleased for my team…winning the race is incredible but I had the best present a couple of weeks ago.”
As our anthem played out for what seems like the millionth time this summer, we couldn’t have wished for a better winner. Well done Cal, and well done LCR Honda!
How did the rest of the Brits do in the Czech GP?
The Brits started out strongly again in this race, showing that we certainly know what to do with a rainy day! We got a bit giddy about Scott Redding for the first half of the race, as he shot up to the leading pack on his Octo Pramac Yakhnich Ducati.
Redding put in a stunning performance, starting in 14th and tearing through the field to second place. Sandwiched in-between the two Factory Ducatis, he stayed with the leading pack until tyre trouble forced him to fade down to 15th place.
After his hard bump back to Earth, Redding said: “I was very happy with my race. I made a good start and was going well. I felt a great feeling and I was in control. The set up of the bike was perfect. I felt that the front tyre was starting not to be performing…but suddenly, the uncommon degradation of the front tyre cost me the race. It’s a shame.”
Disappointment for Bradley Smith
Bradley Smith was in 10th position with 17 laps to go, beating Crutchlow who was still down in 13th. However, as Cal’s Honda built more speed, Smith didn’t get a chance to join him in the top 10. Following a good battle with Rossi, Smith ended up dropping out of the race after only 14 laps.
All three British riders gave it their best in the Czech GP, and they should all be applauded for holding it together in the wet. We’re excited to be heading home to Silverstone for the next round, with a British winner to show off at home!
In other news…
Of course Marc Marquez wasn’t going to miss out on an opportunity to get on the podium again. The championship leader started slowly after qualifying in pole position, trying out his tyres in fifth place.
He conserved his energy for a mid-race dash and ended up in third place, deciding to be wise and keep the tyres going rather than challenge for second. To be honest, he really didn’t need it – though he conceded the higher steps on the podium, he still tops the table by 53 points.
Marquez explained his strategy after the race: “When I saw Crutchlow and Rossi go past I saw the line on the tyre and that they had the hard – so I said ok, forget them because they have more grip…today, given the tyre choice, it’s a good result.”
Vale fans rejoice!
Fans of the Doctor will be pleased to hear that Valentino Rossi beat Marquez to second place in the Czech GP. Although it’s a small victory, it’s still four points shaved off the gap between them in the championship standings.
Rossi celebrated a much-needed podium: “It was a great race and I’m very happy for these 20 points, because now I’m second in the championship and I think today we did a good job. And we made the right choice on the rear tyre. Unfortunately we didn’t choose the hard front…I wasn’t as brave as Cal.”
Well Cal, you know you’ve done something right when you’ve impressed Valentino Rossi!
Lorenzo loses it with Yamaha
The Yamaha Factory bikes, for all their bells and whistles, were not performing very well on a drying track. Jorge Lorenzo started from 2nd on the grid, and tumbled all the way down to 16th as if he just didn’t care. He eventually finished the race with a big fat zero points in a shocking 17th place.
Nobody but Lorenzo knows what was going through his head, but he seemed to be seriously off his game. He managed to get up to 10th place at one point but lost his nerve with 7 laps to go and pitted, probably worried about the state of his tyres.
The pit crew rushed to change the tyres on Lorenzo’s first bike as he hopped onto the second. By the time he got back on his original bike, it was too late to build up the momentum he needed. An extremely unlucky day for the defending champion!
Lorenzo said: “It‘s a big pity because I was doing a great race…I needed to be very careful and that is why I was quite far from the top…Seven laps before the end the front tyre tore up so I had to change bike twice – and then finished the race on the first bike in seventeenth. Rossi was unlucky in Mugello and I was unlucky today.”
The next race is on our home tarmac!
The next round of the 2016 MotoGP will take place at Silverstone, right here in good ol’ Blighty. It’ll be on the 4th September, so get your tickets now! If you can’t make it, we’ll be here to fill you in on the action shortly after the race.
In the meantime, why not keep yourself busy by reading back through our Racing News section of the blog? Don’t forget to leave us a comment with your reaction to Crutchlow’s first victory!
Photos courtesy of Motogp.com.
