CAL Crutchlow admits a lack of pace proved to be his downfall despite recording his highest finish since the opening race of the MotoGP season after coming eighth in the Indianapolis MotoGP.
The Coventry-born rider started Sunday’s race in 12th position on the grid and Crutchlow struggled to find the right pace in the early stages.
He was able to move ahead thanks to the retirement of several riders and after scrapping with fellow Brit Scott Redding in the final laps, the 28-year-old moved ahead of his rival to finish eighth.
“We tried our best to improve the whole weekend and the team did a great job to be able to make a bike that was capable of being competitive,” said Crutchlow.
“So I’m pleased with the result to finish eighth but not with the distance from the winner, which is still too far.
“After the arm operation I felt I was trying to recover a lot over the weekend but in the race I felt quite strong, it’s just that my GP14 was quite difficult to ride.
“Unfortunately I was just too slow in the first ten laps of the race, but after that my laps were quite fast and consistent.”
Crutchlow finished one place behind fellow Ducati rider Andrea Dovizioso (seventh) and the team’s general manager, Luigi Dall’Igna, said: “We leave Indianapolis with the confirmation that our work, and the latest developments on the engine and the aerodynamics, are giving positive results.”
Coventry’s Cal Crutchlow finished eighth in the Indianapolis Grand Prix on Sunday. (s)
