Crutchlow: Ducati should've locked out first three rows

LCR Honda rider Cal Crutchlow says Ducati bikes should have dominated MotoGP qualifying at the Red Bull Ring due to the marque's horsepower advantage.

The Ducatis were widely expected to dominate the Austrian motorcyle Grand Prix weekend after a strong showing in testing and practice.

However, while Andrea Iannone did take pole for Ducati, the two works bikes were split by Valentino Rossi on the front row - while Scott Redding was the marque's top satellite rider in eighth.

Crutchlow, who qualified seventh, said after the session: "In the end, we're obviously pleased enough, not too far away from Marc [Marquez] and the other guys. But we are chewing the screen to do these laptimes.

"Before Turn 1 and Turn 3, we're losing four tenths every single lap to the Ducatis. Four tenths in two corners. That is then 12 seconds a race - and then you have the acceleration to the next one, where you lose another two or three tenths. It's 18-20 seconds in one race through horsepower.

"I think it's... quite obvious, they're gonna run the soft tyre, go away for the first 10 laps and then just turn down the fuel to make sure they finish - and that's it. Basta, see you tomorrow.

"Honestly, I don't know how many Ducatis are in the race, 10? [Nine]. There should be 10 Ducatis in the top 10. Simple as that.

"I think a lot of the other satellite riders on good bikes need a bit of a revving, to be honest, from their team. They have competitive bikes that are rocketships, they're not fast enough."

Honda "couldn't slipstream a bus"

The Honda bike's well-documented deficit under acceleration means that, despite qualifying in seventh, Crutchlow isn't too optimistic about Sunday's race.

"We're trying to make it up in the braking - that's why we're making mistakes, that's why we're out of control. To be honest, I'm pissed off with it.

"We'd be so much more competitive if we were able to even stay in the slipstream of the new Aprilia, but we can't. But there's not much they can do.

"They're working hard, we have an upgrade that is better than the one we had before - so you can imagine what we were riding with at the start of the year.

"But in the end, it's all about horsepower, about anti-wheelie system, how it works, how the engine works, all that and ours just doesn't compare to theirs."

Asked if he saw himself contending for a top-five finish on Saturday, he said: "Top five? You're living in a dream world if you think this.

"We have to go as hard as possible at the start and see what we get. I have to take some risk tomorrow, simple as that. If I am 14th in the first lap, I'm finishing probably worse than 14th - because you can't pass anyone with that bike."