A weekend not to forget - Crutchlow
Cal Crutchlow reckons he won't forget his British MotoGP weekend any time soon after racing from the back of the grid to sixth with a broken ankle.
Crutchlow injured his ankle in a crash in Saturday morning's final practice and was in hospital having checks when qualifying took place.
At the time his Yamaha Tech 3 team confirmed that the Brit, who missed last year's event at Silverstone with a fractured collarbone, was in doubt for Sunday's race.
However, when the grid formed, Crutchlow was there on his bike and down in 20th and last place as the rules dictate.
That in itself was impressive as the 26-year-old could not even climb off the bike due to the pain in his ankle.
But as the race got under way, Crutchlow was immediately on the pace, slicing his way through the field on his way to sixth place with a last lap overtake on Ducati's Nicky Hayden.
"That's a weekend I won't forget in a hurry," said Crutchlow.
"Saturday was a disaster with the crash and I thought I was going to miss my home race again. But the Clinica Mobile team and medical staff at Silverstone did an amazing job and I am grateful that I could finally start my home grand prix.
"I never imagined I could get sixth position because normally if you start from the third row it is very difficult to get into that position. So starting from the back of the grid, I'd have been happy to finish the last prototype bike.
"It was a very tough race but I just had to try and ignore the pain and let the adrenaline and support of the British crowd get me through.
"I'm really happy with my lap times because I was as quick as the guys on the podium, even with a broken ankle. So a little part of me can't help but think without the crash that I could have been on the podium in the British Grand Prix.
"I'm not going to complain with sixth and I want to say thanks to my Yamaha Tech 3 crew, who basically chose the set-up of the bike for me and it worked great."
The Brit added: "A big thanks to all the British fans who were unbelievable. When I was lying in the gravel all I could think was they weren't going to see me ride in my home race again.
"Their support helped me a lot and I hope they went home proud of the job I did for them."
