Crutchlow says wet Thailand MotoGP race start “very dangerous”
Cal Crutchlow says he was “not very happy” at the start of the wet MotoGP Thailand Grand Prix as the amount of spray being kicked up was “very dangerous”.
Last Sunday’s race at Buriram had to be delayed by almost an hour due to a torrential downpour lashing the circuit.
When the race did get underway, the level of spray was still very high but all bar Tech3 KTM’s Remy Gardner managed to make it to the chequered flag.
Several riders were seen in discussion on the grid ahead of the start about the conditions, as well as with FIM officials.
Crutchlow, who came from the fifth row of the grid and finished 19th, says the conditions at the start were “way over the limit” and shouldn’t have gone ahead.
“I was not very happy at the start of the race, because fuck it was dangerous – very, very dangerous,” Crutchlow said.
“Honestly, me, Maverick [Vinales], [Fabio] Di Giannantonio were just shutting the throttle in the straight [because of the spray] but they are just ramming you from behind because you can’t see.
“The rain light might as well just be a fucking torch, you can’t see anything.
“Everyone will say ‘ah, you’re complaining, you should race, blah, blah, blah’. You try and not see through your visor like that at those speeds in that water.
“It was, to me, way over the limit to race. But who am I to say, I don’t even race anymore so they’re not going to listen to me. And, the guys at the front are in a different scenario because they haven’t got 15 guys in front of them. They’re fine.”
Cal Crutchlow, RNF MotoGP Racing
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
Crutchlow added: “I have raced a race like that before, and it was Motegi some years ago when we raced in the rain.
“And the spray was bad then, but that [today] was unbelievable.”
Crutchlow’s race was badly affected by issues with front tyre pressure on his Yamaha, which he believes also struck championship leader Fabio Quartararo.
Yamaha said after the race that it had no ideas as to what caused Quartararo to finish out of the points in 17th, reducing his championship to Ducati’s Francesco Bagnaia from 18 points to just two.
Related video
The signs the old Marquez is really back to trouble his MotoGP rivals
Miller admits 2022 MotoGP title “a long shot” despite re-ignited charge
Why physical fitness is an understimated challenge for IndyCar rookies
The lack of in-car physical fitness is an “underestimated” hurdle for an IndyCar Series rookie, according to Dale Coyne Racing's Indy Lights graduate Sting Ray Robb.
Bubba Wallace ‘got dumped’ by Austin Dillon in NASCAR Clash
Bubba Wallace says Austin Dillon “dumped” him out of second place in NASCAR’s chaotic Busch Light Clash at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on Sunday night.
Albon warns Williams has "long road ahead" to recover in F1
Alex Albon admits that his Williams Formula 1 team has a “long road ahead” as it tries to progress up the field this year.
Toyota won’t put more pressure on Katsuta at WRC Rally Sweden
Toyota World Rally Championship boss Jari-Matti Latvala says the team won’t "put more pressure" on Takamoto Katsuta to deliver in his first drive for the factory team this weekend.
The other Suzuki signing that could transform Honda's MotoGP form
Following Suzuki's decision to quit MotoGP, both of its former riders have landed at Honda for 2023. But perhaps its biggest signing from the now-defunct team could instead be a highly-rated technical manager. Is Ken Kawauchi the right man at the right time to steer HRC back to glory?
How the MotoGP paddock has offered refuge to Suzuki's former team
Suzuki's unexpected departure left more than 40 professionals virtually jobless for the 2023 MotoGP season. But that human drama has been successfully corrected by the paddock itself, with most former Suzuki crew-members absorbed into other operations
How one MotoGP team went from title fights to losing it all in four years
The Petronas Sepang Racing Team came into MotoGP with a bang in 2019 as regular front-runners, with wonder rookie Fabio Quartararo mounting a title challenge in 2020. But it all went wrong for the Razlan Razali-helmed squad as the team changed hands and tumbled down the order - and RNF Racing plans to right this in 2023
Is MotoGP's comeback king ready to reclaim his throne?
Marc Marquez’s sixth premier MotoGP title seems a long time ago given the injury woes he has faced in the three years since. At the end of a fraught 2022, in which he had a fourth major operation on his right arm, the Spaniard speaks exclusively to Autosport
How MotoGP’s underachiever is working to reverse its fortunes in 2023
As European manufacturers emerged as the strongest force in 2022 in a changing of the guard for MotoGP, one powerhouse couldn’t quite match the feats of Ducati and Aprilia. Its motorsport chief tells Autosport why this is and what it is doing to become a consistent frontrunner in the class of kings
How MotoGP riders are preparing for the physical stress of sprint races
With the expansion of the calendar to 21 grands prix and the introduction of sprint races, the 2023 MotoGP season will take the riders to almost 1,300 kilometres of competition more than this year, a factor that forces adjustments in their physical preparations.
The Ducati rider who is much more than just the brother of a MotoGP legend
Surname pressure is something many have had to deal with in their motorsport careers. And while Luca Marini doesn’t have that, his familial relation and the team he rides for in MotoGP have cast a brighter spotlight on his progress. But, as he has shown in 2022 – and as he reveals to Autosport – Marini is so much more than just the brother of a legend
Ranking the top 10 riders of MotoGP 2022
The 2022 MotoGP season was another hotly contested championship, with Francesco Bagnaia emerging as the title winner after the campaign went to the wire. Autosport picks out the 10 best performers of the season
Subscribe and access Autosport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.