---
title: "Crutchlow rides damaged bike to fifth in qualifying"
canonical: "https://readmotorsport.com/2016/10/29/crutchlow-rides-damaged-bike-fifth-qualifying/"
type: "post"
language: "en-GB"
author: "Lewis Duncan"
section: "MotoGP News"
published: "2016-10-29T11:08:40Z"
modified: "2016-10-29T11:09:03Z"
---

# Crutchlow rides damaged bike to fifth in qualifying

LCR Honda’s Cal Crutchlow salvaged a second row start after crashing late in the second part of qualifying, the British rider remounting his damaged RC213V to go fifth fastest in the tricky conditions.

Crutchlow’s weekend has been tough going. He was left in a precarious position following yesterday’s practice sessions after he agreed with HRC to try a modification to his bike in FP1. This left him without any time to post a quick lap and meant he was 13th on the time sheets.

Luckily, the bad weather stayed away for this morning’s FP3 session and Crutchlow looked set to head through to QP2. However, a fall at Turn 7 on his final flying lap halted his progress and he was unable to lift himself up into the top 10. This proved to be no trouble as the British rider blitzed the field to go top of the pile with a 2m11.591s in the first part of qualifying.

With the pole time just a tenth of a second quicker than that, Crutchlow had the potential to challenge for top spot. But, he crashed again, damaging the handle bar and brake lever on his bike. With just four minutes to go, 12th was looking like the LCR rider’s best. One last-gasp effort, with a damaged bike and a sore hand, a legacy of his FP3 tumble, saw Crutchlow rocket up the order to fifth on the grid with a 2m12.558s.

Conditions are still a big unknown for tomorrow’s 20-lap Malaysian Grand Prix, but Crutchlow reckons his pace is good in the wet and the dry, leaving him pretty relaxed ahead of the race.

“I think today we salvaged a second-row position after a disastrous qualifying for me when I crashed in the really tricky conditions,” Crutchlow said.

“Everybody was completely at the limit and the tyres weren’t working so well in the hotter conditions. In FP4 they were fantastic, then in the Q1 session they were getting worse and by Q2 worse again.

“I made a mistake in Q2 by slipping off, and I think I did well to get back on the bike because the handlebar was totally bent and the brake lever completely pointing down. To ride the bike with the handlebar as bad as this and still improve the lap time was quite good, but a little dangerous, so I don’t plan on doing it again! I had to make sure I wasn’t 12th on the grid, though.

“Now we have to look forward to tomorrow. We have a good pace in the dry and a good pace in the race too, so let’s see what happens.”