CAL Crutchlow admits he is just happy to have finished the race after claiming a sixth-place finish at the Dutch MotoGP.
The Coventry-born rider started Saturday’s race at the Assen track in seventh position on the grid and became embroiled in a race-long battle with several of his rivals.
Crutchlow made a solid start in the sunny conditions, but as the leaders pulled away from the pack, the 29-year-old was stuck in a dogfight with at least five others, which saw the group chopping and changing positions in virtually every corner, on every single lap.
Ultimately Crutchlow came home sixth to end his three race run without scoring points having finished 24 seconds behind race winner Valentino Rossi.
“I had three non-finishes after three crashes, a couple which were no fault of my own, so I had to finish the race, but 24 seconds off the lead is not where I want to be,” said Crutchlow, who last picked up points when he finished fourth in Jerez back in May.
“I think we had the pace to be fourth today, but I couldn’t get away from the group because the bikes in a straight line were faster than mine.
“Andrea Dovizioso passed me down the straight six or seven times, and that messed up my rhythm preventing me from escaping. It was a nice battle though, because we have great respect for each other.”
“Battling with all the other riders was good fun, but I honestly wanted to be further up than I was. That said, I needed to finish the race so sixth is not so bad.”
A sixth place finish means Crutchlow’s total points for the 2015 season moves up to 57, which puts him seventh in the standings ahead of the German MotoGP in Sachsenring in two weeks time.
