Crutchlow: Rivals Are 'Wimps'

By: Charles Bradley

LCR Honda’s Cal Crutchlow, the first British winner of a top-level motorbike race since Barry Sheene 35 years ago, branded his fellow MotoGP stars “wimps” for not gambling on tire choice.

Crutchlow scored a 7s win over Valentino Rossi after gambling on hard-compound wet tires, front and rear. Only Loris Baz, who finished fourth on his Avintia Ducati, made the same choice – with Rossi running a hard rear with a soft front.

“I took the gamble, nobody else did – or I don’t know if anybody else did on the grid,” said Crutchlow. “As far as I’m concerned they’re all wimps. I don’t know why you’d choose one and not the other.

“I’m really, really pleased for my team, we worked hard for this. We did the best job we could today. I smashed the bike yesterday and honestly they didn’t leave the circuit until midnight last night. It was a good way to repay them today.”

Crutchlow, who recently became a father, said the feeling of getting his first win on his 98th MotoGP start didn’t quite match the arrival of his daughter.

“I expected probably a different feeling but with Lucy giving birth the other week, that was the best feeling in the world,” he said. “Don’t get me wrong, winning races is fantastic, I had the best present a couple of weeks ago, as we know.”

The last Briton to win at this level was Sheene in the 1981 500cc Swedish Grand Prix at Anderstorp.