MotoGP riders baffled by "strange" Misano crashes
Several MotoGP riders, including Cal Crutchlow, were at a loss to explain their crashes during the San Marino Grand Prix.


LCR Honda duo Crutchlow and Takaaki Nakagami, as well as Pramac Ducati rider Francesco Bagnaia, fell during the San Marino GP and were all left confused afterwards.
Crutchlow, who struggled massively all weekend and crashed while running a lowly 12th, said he didn't do anything different compared to other laps.
"[I have] no idea [why I crashed] because I did nothing different to any other lap and I just crashed. It was exactly the same crash Marc had in FP4," he said of his Turn 8 crash.
"I was going as fast as I could without crashing and I ended up crashing.
"Just in the last moment in T7, but I did not feel that I was gonna crash at all. I was trying to ride to the finish in the fastest possible speed, which was very slow.
"I had no warning from the crash. I had more warnings on the right-hand side and I ended up crashing on the left-hand side. This is a problem."
Bagnaia reported he experienced issues he never had prior to the race nor in the pre-race Misano test, and had "very dangerous" moments in high-speed corners.
"When I start the race I was feeling something strange with the front tyre because I was losing the front in a lot of corners, most of all in the fast corner like T3 and T11 and it was very dangerous," said Bagnaia, who ended up crashing at Turn 4.
"I never lose the front in all the weekend and the test and in the race I lost a lot of time.
"Also the crash is difficult to understand from the data because it is nothing strange: the same brake, same speed, same line."
"It's very difficult because I start the race and in T2 I lose the front. I arrive in T11 and I lose the front [again], it's very difficult moment to take the concentration."
Nakagami meanwhile said he had moments in slower corners and was able to anticipate that he would eventually crash.
"I struggle a lot especially on the right side, on the left was okay," said the Japanese rider. "I didn't understand what happened.
"The problem is from the beginning of the race. I knew that if I keep pushing, maybe very soon I have a crash and at that moment, just lap three or four, the warning was at T4 and T10 and T14 which is the slow corners.
"I am really disappointed [about] what happened. We have to understand what happened during the race because this feeling I never had all the weekend. Very strange for me."
Additional reporting by Valentin Khorounzhiy and Matteo Nugnes

Takaaki Nakagami, Team LCR Honda
Photo by: Gold and Goose / LAT Images

Vinales explains early Misano pace drop-off
Miller was "paranoid" about crashing at Misano

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.