Crutchlow's Barcelona Q2 hopes "wrecked" by Rabat
Cal Crutchlow felt he could have progressed into Q2 at the MotoGP Catalan Grand Prix had Tito Rabat not "wrecked" his final two laps in qualifying.
The LCR rider was dropped into the Q1 places after ending FP3 in 16th, and did occupy a spot inside the top two in the opening stages of the first 15-minute qualifying segment.
But Avintia's Tito Rabat got in his way towards the end of his penultimate lap, before rejoining in front of his after running off at the first corner, resigning Crutchlow to 16th on the grid with a 1m39.986s.
Just four tenths outside of the Q2 progression places, Crutchlow believes without Rabat getting in his way he could have made it into the second part of qualifying.
"I'm pleased with my day. To qualify 16th I'm not happy with," Crutchlow said when asked by Motorsport.com to comment on his qualifying.
"I caught Tito on my lap… well, actually, I didn't catch him, he jumped in front of me on my lap into the third-to-last corner.
"I had [Francesco] Bagnaia ahead at one second, and the Tito jumped into the middle of the corner and blew my last corners.
"Then I had one lap left, I didn't pass him down the straight and he was trying to get the slipstream off Bagnaia and he braked so late into Turn 1.
"But he blew the corner and came back on in front of me, so he wrecked my last lap and I couldn't go again. I believe we could have gone through to the Q2, but we didn't and overall I feel not too bad."
Crutchlow will start his first race since August's Styrian GP on Sunday having missed the Misano double-header through complications from arm pump surgery.
The LCR rider says his right arm was "rock hard" in the morning session, and though it improved in the afternoon he is worried about how it will be in the race.
"I'm concerned for my arm because essentially what I'm experiencing is worse than before the operation with regards to arm pump," he admitted.
"Obviously I've had he fascia taken out, so it's not suffocating the muscle like it was before.
"But it's the flexor tendon is just really, really tight, really painful and when the muscle gets expanded it pushes against it and I have exactly the same symptoms as I had before.
"So, I don't know, this afternoon was better than this morning, but I'll try and get through the race as best possible."
MotoGP on TV today – How can I watch the Catalan Grand Prix?
Quartararo didn’t expect Morbidelli’s pole pace
Why Ducati holds all the power in its MotoGP rider dilemma
OPINION: The French Grand Prix looks to have made Ducati’s decision on its factory team line-up simpler, as Enea Bastianini stormed to his third win of the campaign and Jorge Martin crashed out for a fifth time in 2022. But, as Ducati suggests to Motorsport.com, it remains in the strongest position in a wild rider market
The seismic aftershock of Suzuki's decision to leave MotoGP
Suzuki's sudden decision to leave the MotoGP World Championship at the end of the season has acted as a stirring element in a market that had already erupted. We analyse what this means for the grid going into 2023
How the real Ducati began to emerge in MotoGP's Spanish GP
Ducati’s 2022 MotoGP bike has had a tough start to life and the expected early-season title charge from Francesco Bagnaia did not materialise. But the Spanish Grand Prix signalled a turning point for both the GP22 and Bagnaia, as the 2021 runner-up belatedly got his season underway after a straight fight with Fabio Quartararo
How praise for Honda's MotoGP bike has given way to doubt
In a little over two months, Honda has gone from setting the pace in MotoGP testing with its new RC213V prototype to being at a crossroads - caused by the discrepancy in its riders' feedback. After a Portuguese GP that underwhelmed, serious questions are now being asked of Honda in 2022
Why Quartararo's win was vital not only for his title hopes
Fabio Quartararo got his MotoGP title defence off the ground in the Portuguese Grand Prix as a dominant first win of 2022 rocketed him to the top of the standings. While a significant result in terms of his title hopes, it has come at an even more important time in terms of his 2023 contract negotiations
The MotoGP rookie fighting two fronts in his debut year
Darryn Binder has found himself in the unenviable position as MotoGP's most under-pressure rookie in 2022 having made the step directly from Moto3 with a reputation as an over-aggressive rider. This hasn't been an easy thing to shake at the start of the season, but he believes tangible progress is being made
How ‘Beast’ mode is putting Ducati in 2022 MotoGP title contention
Enea Bastianini’s second win of the 2022 campaign at COTA puts him back in the lead of the standings and once again showed the best Ducati package is still the 2021 bike. Those closest to Bastianini tell Motorsport.com why he’s so good on the GP21 relative to his factory counterparts.
How Espargaro helped Aprilia shed MotoGP's underdog tag
Aleix Espargaro became MotoGP's newest winner in a thrilling Argentina Grand Prix in which he also proved the merits of the Aprilia project. After six years of hard graft, both parties have reaped the rewards they have long thought they deserved. But it was several key moments in that journey that led both to that momentous Sunday at Termas de Rio Hondo.