Cal Crutchlow was on course for a brilliant top ten finish when he suffered an unfortunate crash in the final stages when a quick rain shower fell while he was locked in an exciting battle with Hiroshi Aoyama for eighth position.
The 27-lap race started in sunny but cool conditions but it was a fierce wind that made tackling the high-speed and technical 4.4km Phillip Island a tough challenge this afternoon.
Cal was unfortunately caught out by the tricky conditions in the final stages while he was preparing for a late attack on Aoyama.
Cal had fought brilliantly to keep Karel Abraham and Randy de Puniet at bay when he hit a wet patch of tarmac at Lukey Heights on lap 24. Aoyama crashed in identical circumstances right in front of Cal and the 25-year-old was unable to rejoin the race and collect a deserved top 10 finish.
“I'm pretty disappointed because it has been a very difficult weekend, so to get a top 10 would have been a very positive way to sign off."
"I'd been having a really good battle with Abraham, Aoyama and de Puniet and I was confident I was going to finish at least eighth."
"But I came into Lukey Heights and couldn't even see any rain and the next thing I was down. The weird thing is Aoyama went down right in front of me on the same wet patch, so it was like synchronised crashing. I had no idea why I'd crashed and someone in the crowd told me it had rained really quickly and then stopped."
"It is a pity because that cost me a decent result but I'll be looking to get back in the fight for the top 10 in Sepang next week. I tested twice at that track in the winter and while it was tough, I've gained so much experience since then that there's no reason why I can't have a strong weekend.”