Cal Crutchlow, who is celebrating his birthday today, will start the Malaysian Grand Prix from tenth position on the grid.
With conditions remaining dry at the Sepang International Circuit on Saturday, the Briton looked well placed to secure a spot towards the front of the field, but suffered a fall during qualifying which ensured he had to settle for a spot on the fourth row for the penultimate round of the MotoGP World Championship.
Having posting the sixth fastest time on a damp first day in Malaysia, Crutchlow again impressed during FP3 as he finished in seventh to secure his place in Q2.
However, an untimely fall ended his hopes of pushing for a place on the front row in a session which saw fellow Honda rider Dani Pedrosa claim pole position for Sunday's race.
โToday was a lot better day in the dryer conditions, I feel confident and good with the bike,โ he said. โI think we were set for a very good qualifying lap, maybe on the front row, but I made a mistake in turn seven when pushing for the best possible lap time. I lost the front tyre which was a lot better for braking, but not so good for turning.โ
โI'm disappointed to be tenth on the grid, but we made fifth position last week from tenth on the grid so we have to stay positive and see what we can do tomorrow in the long race of Malaysia.โ
