Breaking news

MotoGP

Crutchlow: Honda not as close to me as before in MotoGP

LCR MotoGP rider Cal Crutchlow admits “hesitantly” that he doesn’t believe Honda is working as closely with him in the 2020 season as it used to.

Lewis Duncan

Published: Aug 28, 2020, 12:14 PM

Copy link

Share on Viber

Add as a preferred source

Crutchlow joined the Honda stable in 2015 with LCR and has been contracted directly to Honda since 2018, with the Briton winning three grands prix in his time with the Japanese manufacturer.

He will leave LCR at the end of the season to make way for Alex Marquez, who agreed a new two-year deal with Honda in the off-season.

Crutchlow has endured a torrid season so far, with a wrist injury sustained at the Spanish Grand Prix and a difficult RC213V leaving him 21st in the championship on just seven points with a best finish of 13th from the first five races.

During the Styrian GP weekend – which Crutchlow ended 17th – he admitted he was “going in circles” with the new Honda bike.

Though HRC is "helping” his side of the garage, Crutchlow believes Honda isn’t working as closely with him as it did before.

“Hesitantly, no, I don’t think they are,” he replied when asked if he felt HRC were as close to him now.

“But that’s the reality. I think it’s difficult. If I was leading every session, etc, I think they would be there more, which is maybe not the best way… maybe we need some help on our side of the garage.

“And don’t get me wrong, HRC are helping our guys. But, on the other hand, I work with my team and I work with my team in a good way because my team understands the bike very well.

“’Beefy’ [Christophe Bourguignon, crew chief] has been with me for many years and has been at Honda for many years.

“So, the information I give to ‘Beefy’ still goes to HRC.

“We have HRC technicians in the garage, and whether the support is as much as before or not, I don’t think it really makes a difference to me going any faster or my feeling with the bike.

“So, they’re doing a good job, they’re listening, they’re trying hard, but it seems in the moment it’s difficult for us to improve.”

Read Also:

Crutchlow noted other Honda riders seem to be “working better” with the RC213V is some areas during the Styria weekend, and hopes the data Honda has gained from that will allow him to make a step forward in the coming races.

“I followed Alex [Marquez] in the race, I can see where his bike is working better than our bike, and I gave that information to Honda,” he added.

“But I also saw it in the practices over the weekend, whenever I was with another Honda it seems they’re working a little bit better in a couple of areas than my bike and we need to work on that.

“Now we’ve got some more information, hopefully at a different circuit we will be stronger.”

We want your opinion!

What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?

Take our 5 minute survey.

- The Motorsport.com Team

Read and post comments

Share Or Save This Story

Copy link

Share on Viber

Previous article Riders call for more consistent stewarding in MotoGP

Next article Why Honda can’t gain concessions even if 2020 woes continue

Top Comments

There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?

View More & Comment

Latest news

The ten closest finishes from the 2026 NASCAR season

NASCAR Cup

NAS NASCAR Cup 4 h

The ten closest finishes from the 2026 NASCAR season

‘Lewis suspected a conspiracy’ – Nico Rosberg explains how Lewis Hamilton F1 rivalry went awry at Mercedes

Formula 1

F1 Formula 1 5 h

‘Lewis suspected a conspiracy’ – Nico Rosberg explains how Lewis Hamilton F1 rivalry went awry at Mercedes

BMW "proud of what we achieved" after securing runner-up in 2026 WEC

WEC

WEC WEC

Monza

6 h

BMW "proud of what we achieved" after securing runner-up in 2026 WEC

The numbers that reveal how sprint races have turned the MotoGP title fight upside down

MotoGP

MGP MotoGP

Qatar GP

8 h

The numbers that reveal how sprint races have turned the MotoGP title fight upside down

Feature

Discover prime content

MotoGP needs to heed the warning signs as riders drop like flies

MotoGP

Qatar GP

By Richard Asher

MotoGP needs to heed the warning signs as riders drop like flies

Five things we learned at MotoGP's controversial Qatar Grand Prix

MotoGP

Qatar GP

By Richard Asher

Five things we learned at MotoGP's controversial Qatar Grand Prix

Why MotoGP's handling of the Qatar Grand Prix could alienate an entire generation of fans

MotoGP

Malaysian GP

By Richard Asher

Why MotoGP's handling of the Qatar Grand Prix could alienate an entire generation of fans

Five things we learned from MotoGP's steamy Malaysian Grand Prix

MotoGP

Malaysian GP

By Richard Asher

Five things we learned from MotoGP's steamy Malaysian Grand Prix

Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.

From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.

You have 2 options:

Become a subscriber.
Disable your adblocker.

Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here

Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page

Manage Alerts