CAL Crutchlow fought through the pain barrier and produced a solid display at the German Grand Prix to finish seventh overall at the Sachsenring circuit.
The Coventry-born rider endured a heavy fall as he qualified in tenth position but he defied the pain sustained in that crash to improve in Sunday’s main event.
Crutchlow made up ground on the riders ahead of him before eventually crossing the finish line in seventh spot, behind fellow British rider Bradley Smith.
Despite the impressive display, Crutchlow acknowledged afterwards that a different selection of front tyre could have seen him finish even higher, but the 29-year-old was satisfied with his result after a difficult weekend in Germany.
“Sunday’s race result is not the best, but I am happy to finish and get some points before the summer break.
“We had some problems in the race, I choose the wrong front tyre as we should have gone with the same one as Danny (Pedrosa) and Marc (Marquez).
“I think it would have gained us quite a few seconds over the race in certain places .
“I also had problems with the rear tyre which gave off vibrations throughout the race so obviously to finish was not a bad job, especially as I still has some pain in my elbow and arm from yesterday’s crash
“We need to go into the summer break and improve for Indianapolis and from then on. I think the first half of the season has been only average and I believe we can do much better.”