Crutchlow says wet Thailand MotoGP race start “very dangerous”

Last Sunday’s race at Buriram had to be delayed by almost an hour due to a torrential downpour lashing the circuit.

When the race did get underway, the level of spray was still very high but all bar Tech 3 KTM’s Remy Gardner managed to make it to the chequered flag. Several riders were seen in discussion on the grid ahead of the start about the conditions, as well as with FIM officials.

Crutchlow, who came from the fifth row of the grid and finished 19th, says the conditions at the start were “way over the limit” and shouldn’t have gone ahead.

“I was not very happy at the start of the race, because it was dangerous – very, very dangerous,” Crutchlow said. “Honestly, me, Maverick [Vinales], [Fabio] Di Giannantonio were just shutting the throttle in the straight [because of the spray] but they are just ramming you from behind because you can’t see.

“The rain light might as well just be a f*****g torch, you can’t see anything. Everyone will say ‘ah, you’re complaining, you should race, blah, blah, blah’. You try and not see through your visor like that at them speeds in that water.

“It was, to me, way over the limit to race. But who am I to say, I don’t even race [full-time] anymore so they’re not going to listen to me. And, the guys at the front are in a different scenario because they haven’t got 15 guys in front of them. They’re fine.”

Cal Crutchlow, RNF MotoGP Racing

Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images

Crutchlow added: “I have raced a race like that before, and it was Motegi some years ago when we raced in the rain.

“And the spray was bad then, but that [today] was unbelievable.”

Crutchlow’s race was badly affected by issues with front tyre pressure on his Yamaha, which he believes also struck championship leader Fabio Quartararo.

Yamaha said after the race that it had no ideas as to what caused Quartararo to finish out of the points in 17th, reducing his championship to Ducati’s Francesco Bagnaia from 18 points to just two.