Cal Crutchlow says beating Andrea Dovizioso for his first MotoGP podium at the 2012 Czech Grand Prix was the “big turning point” of his career.
Crutchlow stepped up to MotoGP from World Superbikes in 2011 with the Tech3 Yamaha squad, though endured a largely difficult opening campaign which yielded just one top five finish.
He was a consistent top five threat the following season, though by the time of the 12th round at Brno, Crutchlow had yet to register a rostrum visit while team-mate and works Honda exile Dovizioso had five to his credit.
After an early battle at Brno with Dovizioso, Crutchlow was able to pull away by six seconds to secure his maiden MotoGP podium.
Speaking to BT Sport during its Greatest Race series, Crutchlow commented: “I came into the season in Qatar [in 2012] and finished fourth straight away, at Jerez race I finished fourth.
“So, I was on for what was a good year, so I knew at some point it was possible to take a podium.
“Brno is a circuit I love. The best part about that race was Dovi had come from the factory Honda team.
“At the time he was my team-mate and he was strong – he’s always strong. He’s a great rider. He was beating me in some other races.
“So it was great to be able to beat him in that race.
“That was a big turning point for me in my career, that we went head-to-head, he was behind me for a lot of that race – right behind me – and I managed to break away from him to get to the podium.
“So, it was a great one obviously.”
Crutchlow added a second podium to his tally in 2012 at Phillip Island, before scoring four the following season.
Commenting further on his 2012 season, he added: “There are some moments in my career that I always remember, and one was that podium there – when I stood on the podium with Jorge [Lorenzo] and Dani [Pedrosa] – and one was the podium that same year at Phillip Island with Casey [Stoner] and Jorge.
“These guys are the greats of the sport, along with many others, but it was a big turning point in my career.”
He departed for Ducati at the end of 2013, though a largely difficult year resulted in just one podium and a switch to Honda with LCR for 2015.
After a tough debut season on the RC213V and just one podium for his efforts, Crutchlow would win his first grand prix the following year at Brno – ending a 35-year wait for a British victory in the premier class.
His second victory came at Phillip island that same season, and he added a third to his tally in 2018 in Argentina.
Last year Crutchlow admitted 2020 would likely be his final one in MotoGP, although the works-contracted Honda rider recently backtracked on those comments.
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