Cal Crutchlow was delighted to have left Brno in a confident frame of mind after a positive day's testing on Monday. The Briton crashed out of Sunday's Czech Grand Prix after a lack of front end grip hurt him once again, his pace early in the test emphasised the fact that a top-ten would have been on the cards.
The Monster Yamaha Tech 3 rider feels that progress has been made both on the bike, and with his riding style as he looks to prevent the accident happening again.
“This morning we didn’t change the bike and I just went out and did some laps and I was doing low 58s on old tyres, so that makes me feel even more disappointed with the crash in the race yesterday because that pace would have put me on for a good result. The front-end could still be better but we’ve definitely been working in the right direction and we’re trying to figure out how we can make more improvements. “
“But this process isn’t just about working on making the bike better. I know I’ve got to improve myself and adapt my style more and I’ve worked on that a lot today. At the moment some laps I’m braking much better and how I should be and others I go back to my normal style, but that is all part of the learning process and why this test has been so valuable. I still need to release the brake earlier to help me carry more corner speed, so I’ll be working on improving more in that area in the future. My crew have worked really hard today after a long weekend, so credit to them for that. It was a good day and I can take some confidence to Indianapolis now.”
Teammate Colin Edwards spent the day testing new front and rear tyre compounds that Bridgestone intends to use in the 2012 season and the American was encouraged by what he saw.
“Today was just about getting some information for Bridgestone and Yamaha. The new tyres I tested seemed to be a good step in the right direction, so they’ve got a lot of information and feedback to analyse and digest now. I’m happy with the direction Bridgestone is going with the rear tyre. I tried two today, and both give you a lot more security. There’s not so much risk involved in the first couple of laps, so credit to Bridgestone because they have listened to our comments this season and taken action to improve the tyres and I’m really pleased. I also ran some new electronics for Yamaha and there were a couple of interesting options. I’m looking forward to going home now and relaxing ahead of another important race in Indianapolis. To have two home races in such a short space of time is awesome, so I’m looking forward to putting on a good show for the American fans.”
