Dovizioso and Crutchlow crash out of Malaysian GP

The Tech 3 Yamaha team endured a tough day at the office in the 2012 Malaysian Grand Prix as both Andrea Dovizioso and Cal Crutchlow crashed out.

Andrea Dovizioso of Italy and Yamaha Tech 3

Doviziozo made a poor start from third spot on the grid and dropped back to ninth place by the end of first lap. Following that, Dovizioso showed strong pace and climbed back up to fourth place and was challenging Stoner for third place but couldn’t manage to hold on to his Tech 3 Yamaha in deteriorating conditions, he crashed out of the race on lap 10.

Cal Crutchlow was also having a strong race and had managed to climb up top fifth place after starting from tenth, but just after passing Hayden and Bradl the Brit made a mistake at turn 15 and lost the front end of his bike.

Here is what they had to say following a disastrous race:

Andrea Dovizioso 13th

“It’s a real pity that the rain came this afternoon. We did such a good job during the weekend with the bike in the dry and we started strong from the first session, so to find these really bad conditions was unlucky for us today. I was ready for a really hard race in hot weather and I’m sure I would have been fighting for the podium in the dry. We can’t change it and I certainly didn’t have the same good feeling in the wet. I had a big slide off the start and lost some places but I managed to get into a fast pace quite quickly. It is very difficult to start a race in the rain with no other time on track in the wet all weekend. I was quite fast but I was lacking rear grip. I could brake very strong but I struggled at exit of the corner. I pushed really hard trying to pass Casey and I lost the front without braking while at maximum angle. I still managed to score some points and finish the race but we expected much more and I am determined to bounce back quickly next week in Australia.”

Cal Crutchlow

“It has been a pretty disappointing weekend to be honest, and another DNF has really hurt my chances of finishing fifth in the Championship because Valentino and Álvaro were behind me in the race. When I crashed the rain had really started to fall heavily and I was braking upright. I must have hit some standing water but I was down with no chance to save it. We struggled all weekend to find a good set-up in the dry and I had no rear grip. Unfortunately, it was the same in the rain and we need to understand why for the future. I had to make up all my time on the brakes and I was pushing and got caught out. Phillip Island is a track I love, so hopefully I can put the disappointment of here and Japan behind me to finish the season strong.”