Fourth for Crutchlow down under

The Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team celebrated a fantastic double top six finish with Cal Crutchlow taking forth in an action-packed and unique flag-to-flag MotoGP race at Phillip Island this afternoon.

Concerns about excessive tyre wear on a new track surface meant the race was reduced to 19-laps on safety grounds, which included a mandatory pit stop for fresh Bridgestone rubber at the end of lap nine or 10.

There was incredible drama and tension from start to finish and Crutchlow put up a tremendous fight to score his fifth rostrum of the campaign and second in succession at the super-fast Phillip Island track.

The 27-year-old pulled into the pits to switch bikes at the end of the 10th lap and in a tense tussle with Valentino Rossi and Alvaro Bautista, the British rider fought for the podium right down to the final corner. 

As rain spots started to fall on the Phillip Island track on the final lap, Crutchlow missed out on his first podium since his second place in Germany by just over 0.1s, with Rossi claiming the final podium spot in front of a crowd of 31,500 enthralled fans.

Crutchlow's excellent display helped move the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team a step closer to clinching third in the Team World Championship standings.

Cal Crutchlow 4th – 179 points:

“It was a bit of shame that I couldn’t finish on the podium today but to be honest I’d have only been there because of what happened to Marc. But I am happy because I rode really well. The problem once again was my start. I have got to work on that because once again today it wasn’t acceptable. The positive point is I had good consistency in the race and I was a lot faster than I expected to be given what had happened with the tyres over the weekend. It was good to race so close to Valentino on the factory Yamaha and I enjoyed it. It was a very hard but fair battle with him and Alvaro. I actually thought there was one more lap, but because I’d been so close to Valentino on the straight I’d not seen my pit board. I’d have liked to be on the podium but fourth is my best result for a few races and hopefully we can be strong in Japan next weekend."

Herve Poncharal – Team Manager:

“I think Race Direction took the right decision to run the race as a flag-to-flag, given some concern about the tyres. MotoGP showed it can react quickly and responsibly to a difficult situation and still provide good entertainment for the fans. I want to thank Cal because he had an incredible race. Cal also had a great fight with Valentino and Alvaro and they put on a great show for the fans. It was a very hard battle and unfortunately Cal couldn’t quite come out on top, but I am very happy and proud of the efforts of everybody in the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team for doing a great job on such a complex weekend. Now we go to Japan, which is such an important race for Yamaha, optimistic that we can see Cal battling close to the front again.”