Crutchlow draws on Dutch courage
Cal Crutchlow has put off an operation on his injured ankle to continue his MotoGP world championship challenge in Holland on Saturday.
The Monster Tech 3 Yamaha rider broke a bone in his left ankle and also suffered a dislocation during practice for his home race at Silverstone.
But rather than have the break pinned Crutchlow is determined to follow up his impressive sixth place at the Northamptonshire circuit with another good result at Assen.
A sixth place finish was made all the more impressive by the fact Crutchlow had to start the race from the back of the grid after missing qualifying while he had his injured ankle checked out in hospital.
The points he picked up at Silverstone moved the British rider into fourth in the standings and he aims to build on that at Assen where he will again defy the pain to race.
"The doctors said they could operate and put a pin in it but the guy who I saw on the Saturday, who is an ankle specialist, said it would make it worse," said Crutchlow.
"The doctors told me I was not allowed to put any weight on my foot for eight to 10 weeks but me being a typical motorcycle rider, that's eight to 10 hours.
"The bone is quite badly broken on the inside. I've fractured the inside of my ankle and I dislocated it. I've got to rest up, let the healing process do what it can and aim to come back stronger in Assen."
Crutchlow lies fourth in the points on 66, putting him 74 behind series leader Jorge Lorenzo.
The factory Yamaha rider won at Silverstone to extend his points lead to 25 over defending champion Casey Stoner.
The Australian holds a gap of 14 points over Repsol Honda team-mate Dani Pedrosa in third who has an advantage of 35 over Crutchlow.