MotoGP: Crutchlow hampered by electronics

Cal Crutchlow revealed he rode to sixth in MotoGP's Qatar season opener despite a significant electronics failure.

The Briton, who immediately parked his bike after limping to the checkered flag, said his problems began when his transponder failed on lap five. That meant the electronic mapping, which helps to control a multitude of factors including power delivery and traction control, moved out of sync with his actual position on the track.

"From lap five onward we had an electrical problem," Crutchlow explained. "The transponder wasn't working, the dash switched off and the bike began to behave strangely.

"The electronic settings were destroyed; how I managed to make the line I don't know. I'm surprised I finished."

Despite the issues, which Crutchlow stressed were not caused by a Ducati fault, the Briton managed to keep pace with teammate Andrea Dovizioso and Forward Racing's Aleix Espargaro until the latter stages of the race, when his problems worsened.

"It was a disappointing race from one aspect, but sixth was not so bad," he said. "The lap times weren't bad at all at the start, and then after the technical issue it was irrelevant.

"Considering what happened, to be hanging in there for six or seven laps was good. I was pleased to be competitive until midway with Aleix and Dovi, but I struggled to finish the race because the problem got worse towards the end.

"It was important to get this race distance under our belt for Ducati and come away from here in not too bad a shape."