Cal Crutchlow hopes to steer well clear of the medical centre this weekend as he prepares for his first British Grand Prix in Ducati colours. As he acknowledged today, the Coventry rider has had his fair share of injury problems on his three previous MotoGP outings here and has taken steps to ensure his recent shoulder issues don’t hamper him this weekend.
“I’ve had some visits to the medical centre that’s for sure! I’ve already paid a visit this weekend so I don’t have to go back! We’ve had an up and down time. I think 2012 was a great race from the back of the grid and I was really confident that if we’d started well, we would’ve been able to contend for at least the top four. Last year was a complete disaster. The morning warm-up was the final straw. I felt good because I had the front row and I thought it was possible to compete but Marc met me in the gravel and gave me a hug and that was my race finished really!”
“I’ve had some problems with the shoulder all year, especially in the cold condition. I know I have a lot of arthritis in the shoulder, at my age I shouldn’t really have it! I have to get it cleaned out at the end of the year so I’ve taken an injection for this weekend to try and lubricate the joint a little bit and hopefully I can have a good weekend here at Silverstone.”
2014 has been something of a struggle for Crutchlow, meaning he heads home without the usual level of expectation on his shoulders. Speaking to the media ahead of the weekend’s action, Cal joked that he has handed that particular responsibility to his former teammate.
“Officially it’s not really my home Grand Prix so I’ve passed the baton to Brad! He said it was carnage in the garage last year so hopefully he doesn’t have a bad weekend like I did last year. The pressure’s off me as I’m not the top British rider now as we know so Brad has it all. He can push this weekend!
“I’m looking forward to riding at Silverstone with the Ducati. We tested at Misano this week and I think we found some positive settings for me on the bike and I felt quite comfortable which is good so hopefully we can start a good run with Ducati for the rest of the year.”
