On the day of his 31st birthday, LCR Honda rider Cal Crutchlow salvaged a stunning second row start in treacherous conditions at the Sepang International Circuit in Malaysia, by picking the bike up after a crash to set the fifth-fastest time during qualifying.

Earlier in the third free practice session, the double grand prix winner was unable to take advantage of a dry track to put himself directly into the qualifying final. He lost the front of his Honda RC213V at turn six on his fastest lap, damaging his left hand slightly in the crash.

With rain falling shortly before the final free practice, Crutchlow then looked in excellent form in the wet, setting the second quickest time of the half-hour, before advancing into Q2 with easily the fastest time in Q1, a 2’11.591.

As the track slowly dried for the qualifying final, the whole field including Crutchlow couldn’t generate the same speed with wet tyres. The Brit then crashed for a second time, but somehow managed to pick the damaged bike back up and improve his spot on the grid by a remarkable seven places.

The lap time from Q1 would actually have seen the LCR Honda man in second on the grid, but as it is Crutchlow will start from fifth, ahead of what will surely be a gruelling 20-lap Malaysian Grand Prix.


#35 Cal Crutchlow – 5th (2’12.558)

“I think today we salvaged a second-row position after a disastrous qualifying for me when I crashed in the really tricky conditions. Everybody was completely at the limit and the tyres weren’t working so well in the hotter conditions. In FP4 they were fantastic, then in the Q1 session they were getting worse and by Q2 worse again.”

“I made a mistake in Q2 by slipping off, and I think I did well to get back on the bike because the handlebar was totally bent and the brake lever completely pointing down. To ride the bike with the handlebar as bad as this and still improve the lap time was quite good, but a little dangerous, so I don’t plan on doing it again! I had to make sure I wasn’t 12th on the grid though.”

“Now we have to look forward to tomorrow, we have a good pace in the dry and a good pace in the rain too so, let’s see what happens.”