Despite finishing 2nd in the combined times on Friday, Cal Crutchlow is undecided on which direction to take with the set up of his bike for his home race. The British rider was the top Honda after FP1 and FP2 and spoke in his media debrief about his feeling with the bike after practice.
“I didn’t feel fantastic, honestly.” said Crutchlow, speaking about his performance on Friday.
“I have two bikes with two completely different set ups and we’re undecided on which way to go and the direction to take. I have a Silverstone bike and I have this year’s race bike.”
It seems to be a common theme among all the riders that the new Silverstone surface is no better than the old one in terms of bumps, and if anything is worse. Crutchlow spoke about how the surface was in a much better state 3 months ago than it is now.
“When I came here 3 months ago, the surface was unbelievable. There were 2 bumps in the whole track. Now, it’s unreal. And that’s not F1 – F1 I’m sure has not made it any better, but I know from the F1 guys that it was bumpy on the first day they drove here.
“One thing we do have is a constant surface. Before there was patches everywhere and modified parts, but now it’s one surface which is good. But it’s really bumpy.” added Crutchlow, regarding the positive element of the new surface.
Crutchlow announced a one-year extension to his current contract with HRC and LCR Honda on Thursday, which will bring him in line with the end of other factory riders’ contracts. He was asked about whether there was a lot of thought on his behalf behind this extension in his debrief.
“No, not really much thought, the deal put in front of me was unbelievable. I’m very lucky that we’d already said that we’d extend the contract when I was leading the championship earlier in the season.” explained Crutchlow.
“To me, it was already set in stone for many months.”