Cal defies demons
Cal takes podium at track that left him in hospital
‘This feels awesome. What a year it’s been’
One year on from the terrifying 150mph crash at Phillip Island’s scary first corner threatened to end his career, Cal Crutchlow conquered his fears to give himself an early 34th birthday present in Australia by finishing a brilliant second. The Briton watched last year’s race from a Melbourne hospital bed loaded up on painkillers after suffering multiple fractures in his right leg and ankle when he fell at Doohan Corner in FP2. The Honda rider was then side-lined for the remainder of the season before going through months of rehabilitiation to battle back from injuries which he feared would prevent him from ever racing again. Crutchlow may have a reputation as a hard man but even he conceded that his highspeed smash 12 months ago filled him with dread and trepidation prior to his Phillip Island return. He even expressed his reservations about returning to the scene of the worst crash of his career to wife Lucy in the buildup to Sunday’s race, which he brilliantly led for six laps before succumbing to Marc Marquez and Maverick Viñales.
He told MCN: “I’ve never had a crash like the one I had last year. I’ve never thought about a crash for one second afterwards and always just jumped straight back on the bike, but that one has haunted me for a year. I said to Lucy before coming that I was scared and worried. You never know if it’ll happen again because it is on your mind. But this podium feels awesome. What a year it’s been to come back from the injury, which I thought at one stage was going to end my career. It’s been a long recovery and a long road wondering if I’d ever be able to ride again. But I’ve still got the desire to be at the front and I proved that I can still do it.” However Crutchlow, who turned 34 yesterday (Tuesday), did have another big Phillip Island scare on Sunday when Marquez produced a typically ruthless and aggressive move at Turn Nine on lap nine to snatch second in his ultimately successful pursuit of Viñales. The Brit added: “I have no problem with his move. I stayed on the bike but it was tight and sometimes there is contact. I never left much room and I don’t know where he saw the gap but my left glove was half off and I spent the next lap trying to get it back on!”