LCR Honda’s Cal Crutchlow admitted that the wrong rear tyre cost him any chance of a podium during the Spanish MotoGP at Jerez.

Starting from the second row, Crutchlow, along with Repsol Honda’s Jorge Lorenzo, were the only two riders electing to run the medium rear Michelin tyre, the rest of the field opted to use the hard rear.

The Brit could only finish in eighth place, just behind Franco Morbidelli. He later admitted that using the medium rear was a costly mistake, but issues in finding the correct setting prior to the race left him with little choice.

“I never really found a good setting all weekend, I think if I’d been able to find a better setting I would have been able to use the hard rear tyre,” said the 33-year-old.

“This morning I was quite fast on the hard rear tyre, but I wasn’t confident enough to use it in the race because I didn’t know if I was going to have a bad feeling with it like the last couple of days.

“So I opted to go with the medium and it was the wrong choice – it’s as simple as that. But I tried my best and eighth place was better than not finishing today, for sure.

“We need to work on the setting of the bike, that’s the main thing, as I don’t feel very comfortable at the moment, as you saw in the race.”