MOTORSPORT: COVENTRY’s Cal Crutchlow continued his positive start to the 2017 MotoGP World Championship by finishing fourth at the Red Bull Grand Prix of the Americas on Sunday.
The 31-year-old followed up his podium finish in Argentina with another solid performance in Austin, where Crutchlow demonstrated his battling qualities once again with a superb ride to finish just outside the top three having departed from ninth place on the grid.
Crutchlow made a great start to the race as he quickly moved through the field into sixth place and assumed fifth when championship leader Maverick Viñales crashed out on lap two.
He was then involved in a thrilling battle with Johann Zarco and eventually got the better of the Frenchman on the final lap to claim fourth spot.
Although he acknowledged afterwards that he was disappointed to miss out on a second consecutive podium, Crutchlow is pleased with his start to the season.
He said: “It was a good race, I felt confident throughout and my team did a fantastic job all weekend. Of course, I’m a little disappointed not to get the podium because we were very close, but I took too long to pass Johann Zarco and after that I lost a little bit of time running off the track”.
“But I felt comfortable during the race and physically strong, and I was still able to push towards the end. I would have liked another podium, but a third in Argentina and fourth here in Texas is good from the last two flyaway races. Hopefully we can carry this momentum into the first European round in Jerez.”
Fellow Honda rider Marc Marquez claimed his fifth straight victory at the Circuit of The Americas with Valentina Rossi and Dani Pedrosa behind him.
