Season finale doesn't go to plan for Cal

The 2013 MotoGP World Championship campaign ended with mixed emotions for the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team in Valencia.

There was to be no fairy tale final appearance in the French-based squad though for Cal Crutchlow, who crashed unhurt on the 10th lap while he was in hot pursuit of the leading group in front of a capacity crowd of almost 105,000 fans.

Smith made one of his trademark sensational starts and he led the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 challenge for the opening six laps by brilliantly fending off a hard charging Crutchlow.

Crutchlow moved into the top six with a pass on Smith on lap six and he immediately launched a fantastic charge towards the leading group of five. But his quest for a 13th top six finish of an outstanding third season with the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 squad was ended prematurely by a crash a third of the way into the 30-lap title decider.

Cal Crutchlow - DNF - 188 points :

"The last race with my Monster Yamaha Tech3 Team didn't really go according to plan, I’m feeling probably more disappointed for the team than for myself. We had an engine failure this morning and could only manage to run two full laps, so we were going into the race a little blind with the setup we had wanted to try. But I had a good feeling with the bike and after passing Bradley, I tried to close the gap to the riders in front of me but unfortunately I touched the curb and lost the front. We still made sure of fifth in the World Championship which was my target for this season, so I can’t be too upset with how this year went. I want to say thank you again to the whole team, we had three great years and a lot of good memories together. I learned a lot during my time with the team, but now it's time for me to move on to a new adventure."

Herve Poncharal - Team Manager :

“We definitely have to be proud to be third in the Team World Championship again, behind Honda and Yamaha. Both Cal as fifth and Bradley ending his rookie campaign in 10th position have done a great job,  so overall I think the year has once again been a really positive one. Sure we would have liked to finish on a different note with Cal, but he was pushing for a podium finish and nobody can blame him for this, especially because he already ensured his fifth position in Japan. But today has also been very emotional for everybody at Tech 3 as we bid farewell to Cal. It has been a wonderful experience working so closely with him since 2011 and he feels like part of our family now. He has given us some magic and unforgettable moments and it is sad to see him leave. He has been an outstanding rider for us, Yamaha and Monster and I wish him tremendous success for the future.”

Image: TeamTech3