Fantastic fourth clinches Rookie of the Year title for Cal!
Cal Crutchlow and the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team ended the 2011 MotoGP World Championship in fantastic fashion this afternoon, the British rider claiming a career best fourth position to win the coveted Rookie of the Year title in a dramatic race in Valencia.
The 30-lap encounter started with light rain falling on the Ricardo Tormo Circuit, the unpredictable conditions posing a major challenge for Cal and stand-in team-mate Josh Hayes as both quickly tried to assess grip levels on the slippery surface.
Starting from 11th on the grid, Cal immediately found himself elevated into the top five when he avoided a four-rider collision at the first corner.
The British rider then found himself locked in an exciting and tense battle with Rookie of the Year rival Karel Abraham, who was riding an inspired race to try and deny Cal from claiming the title for the second year running for the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team.
Just one-point split the pair going into the race and they were barely a second apart for the whole race. They exchanged fifth place several times but the battle became even more nail-biting when rain started to fall heavily five laps from the end.
Cal brilliantly judged where he could push his YZR-M1 machine close to the limit and he took fourth place from Spaniard Dani Pedrosa with a clinical overtake on the final lap. Abraham though was refusing to lie down but as their fight intensified, he made a mistake in the braking zone at Turn 11 and crashed out.
Cal ended fourth to claim his best ever result and by claiming the highest finish by a British rider in the 800cc era, his result moved him into 12th place in the final rankings as he jumped ahead of Alvaro Bautista.
“That was a pretty dramatic way to finish the season and I am obviously thrilled to win the Rookie of the Year title. But I'm equally happy to have finished in fourth place because that was an incredibly difficult race."
"I'm not sure what happened at the first corner but I came out of it in sixth place and just pushed as hard as I could. It was a really intense battle with Karel right to the end and both of us were giving it everything we had."
"The track was so greasy it felt like you could crash so easily and when the rain started getting heavier I just got my head down again and kept pushing."
"I started to catch Dani really fast and I wasn't sure if he had a problem or whether I was pushing too hard. I slowed down because of that and Karel caught me back up, so it came down to the last lap and he obviously made a small mistake. He hit me from behind but I managed to stay on and to finish the season with my best ever result is a great way to start planning for 2012."
"This year has been an incredible learning experience and we have a lot to work on for next season, but I feel confident I can make the step to the next level. I can hold my head up high and now I am looking forward to getting my first experience of the Yamaha 1000cc bike on Tuesday.”