VOL. 50 ISSUE 31 AUGUST 6, 2013
>>CAL CRUTCHLOW
Crutchlow crashed again in Laguna practice - on an out lap on
a cold tire. He does crash rather
a lot, usually at higher speed and
because he's nudging
the record, and his
willingness to push
that hard all the time
has seen him reap the
rewards with a series
of rostrums.
At Laguna, for reasons he couldn't really explain, it went the
other way. A bit worrying. But probably only
a blip, given his year
so far.
He needs to keep doing the
same for the rest of it, and a bit
more help from Yamaha wouldn't
go amiss: he is still on last year's
chassis, part of the reason for his
P83
problems getting the speed in
the early laps, with a full fuel tank.
And finally comes the news
that Crutchlow's future is secure,
the Brit having inked a two-year
contract with Ducati.
Yamaha wanted to keep
him but didn't have a
bike for him; Honda was
trying to find a way to
slot him in; and Ducati
had a wedge of cash
and a top factory slot on
the table.
Cal is fast, funny and
popular. It will be interesting to see if he can
help turn around Ducati's
thusfar woeful program.
