Andalucia MotoGP: Crutchlow: It's more the anaesthetic than the wrist
Cal Crutchlow faces a gruelling challenge just to complete Sunday's Andalucia MotoG﷽P race, and not just because of the freshly broken scaphoid bone in his left wrist.
The afterܫmath of the anaesthetic from Tuesday's surgery combined with exhausting 35-degree heat has left both♌ Crutchlow and Marc Marquez feeling sick and physically drained.
Marquez has now abandoned his early return fꦛrom a broken right arm, but Crutchlow will line-up 13th on Sunday's grid as he seeks hﷺis first points of the season.

Cal Crutchlow faces a gruelling challenge just to complete Sunday's Andalucia MotoGP race, and not just becau💟se of the freshly broken scaphoid bone in his left wrist.
The aftermath of the anaesthetic fro❀m Tuesday's surgery combined with exhausting 35-degree heat has left both Crutchlow and Marc Marquez feeling sick and physically drained.
Marquez has now abandon🍎ed his early return from a broken right arm, but Crutchlow will line-up 13th on Sunday's grid as he seeks his first points of the season.
"Over a lon꧒ger distance with a wrist injury is never good. But it’s more my physical feeling than my wrist," explained Crutchlow, injured in warm-up six days ago. "I don’t feel fantastic. I felt sick after yesterday’s practice. Also when I spoke to Marc this morning he said he felt a bit sick. We think it’s mor🌌e the anaesthetic.
"We had an operation three days ago. We’ve been in hospital and feel physically drained. Then it’s a😼bout 5 million degrees outside! Riding the Honda around this circuit is never easy.꧃ It’s not a smooth bike to ride, you have to push a lot in braking and cornering to get the lap time.
"At the moment I’m using my right arm a lot more than my left but I feel completely in control of the bike. In the middle of the corner I have a s🙈trange feeling that I’m not holding the handlebar correctly. But I n🀅ever miss a braking marker, always stop.
"My wrist is not that swollen so I can manage it.&n❀bsp;Also, I have a high pain threshold so I don’t really feel in massive pain. Over 25 laps it might be difficult🍌. But I’ll try.
"I feel better today than yesterday so I’m hoping tomorrow ✱I'll feel better again and overall we’re pleased with my performance. In qualifying I tried my best. I’ve always said if I give my 100% and if that’s 12th, 13th, 15th, I have to be happy."
With Crutchlow, Marquez and Alex Rin✤s (dislocated shoulder) all passed fit to ride just days after suffering substantial injuries, question𝔍s have been raised about the level of the medical test.
"It wasn’t easy," Crutchlow said. "People think you can just walk in there and they say 'you can ride. See you later'. I don’t know how many of you [journalists] have had broken bones, come back and stood there in front of three doctors that all do the same test on you three times - grabbing you and ragging you around to see if ☂you can ride or handle a bike that’s moving...
"I don’t know what the other 🤪guys did, but I’m sure it’s the same. I had to do a 𒁃strength test. I had to do a flexibility test, as in how much I can move my wrist. And how much you can grip someone’s hand, to show how well you can grip the handlebar.
"It wasn’t easy, I can tell you that. I passed the test but it's also on agreeme🍎nt that you'll speak to the doctor in the session. So you’re passed fit for the first session. They then assess you in that session and make 🤪sure you’re able to continue.
"It’s not like you just walk in there and꧋ they sign your form."
While able to compete this weekend, Crutchlow conceded that he's not in a fast enough state to accurately assess new deve🌠lopments on the RC213V, after appearing to receive a different chassis on Friday.
"I had something different yesterday but it was impossible to test something and see posiꦚtives in it when I’m not going fast enough. I was too uncomfortable to try these things,"🌞 he said.
"We were trying [set-up] stuffꦅ today and I could feel a difference. But parts wise I need to be running🎉 a fast lap time to try that. 1s off isn’t good enough for testing parts, in my opinion, when you’re looking for 0.2s.
"That's also why test riders need to be 🉐fast. No point riding around 1-2s off.
"So I couldn’t really test what [HRC] wanted me to💞 test. I appreciate they wanted me to evaluate things but I think it was a bit of an ask when I didn’t know💧 I could ride at all. "
With both of Honda's MotoGP race winners injured, Crutchlow'sꦓ team-mate Takaaki Nakagami has 'stepped up to the plate' on the 2019-spec bike, leading both FP2 and FP4 before qualifying i♏n eighth place.
"Taka is riding very well," said Crutchlow. "He’s in his third year in MotoGP and this 🅰is what you expect when you’re riding for a factory. You need to s♛tep up to the plate and that’s what he’s doing this weekend. "
Nakagami credited some of his performance to examining his data alongside that🥂 of Marquez.
"Not really any big change. Just after the🌄 first race, me and the team, also the HRC guys wit🐈h Takeo, we saw Marc's data and just deeply checked on the data the difference between Marc's bike and mine.
"There was a big differeꩵnce in only one point on the setup on the bike. We didn't copy, but tried a little bit Marc's side of the setting, w🌱hich is good for the Honda bike. And he knows very well how to adapt to this 'heavy' [handling] bike.
"On the data I understood how he manages with this bike, and this is good to understand. On Friday I tried, and suddenly I feel much more comfortable and much easier riding,𒅌 and the lap time is more consistent. This is the difference.
"The main thing is just a little bi♏t different setup, but I changed my riding completely. I tried🌃 like Márquez riding. I can't completely copy, but I try to ride how he rides, how he manages this bike."
Told about Naka🦄gami's p🌟rogress after seeing the data, Crutchlow quipped: "If you can look at Marc's data and suddenly ride like Marc, he should win the race tomorrow then!"

Peter has been in th𝓰e paddock for 20 year🌌s and has seen Valentino Rossi come and go. He is at the forefront of the Suzuki exit story and Marc Marquez’s injury issues.