MOTORCYCLE rider Cal Crutchlow lost the top of his left little finger in a crash at MotoGP testing in Qatar in March.
Former World Supersport Champion Cal, who lives in Ramsey, was scheduled to take part in his first ever MotoGP race riding for the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 team, when the accident happened in practice.
He explained: "The test certainly didn't end how I wanted and it is a real shame because we had made some changes to the balance of the bike that really helped my confidence with the front-end.
"But I made a silly little mistake at Turn 10. I lost the rear and closed the throttle but then lost the front and I couldn't get my left hand out from underneath the handlebar.
"I've basically taken the tip off my left little finger and it is really sore now.
"I don't need surgery but it is obviously going to be uncomfortable this weekend for the race now. It is a shame because I was only 0.5 seconds away from the top 10.
"I adapted to riding under the floodlights really quickly once I realised the shadows weren't somebody trying to overtake me!
"I was confident of taking another step and I'm sure I could have done without the crash.
"It cost me nearly three hours of track time, which I can't really afford to lose at this stage, but I'm still looking forward to my MotoGP debut.
"It will be an honour to line-up against this field on Sunday night and as always I'll be giving it my best."
Cal, who is English, was the only British rider in the MotoGP class this year.
This story is part of isleofman.com's Review of the Year 2011.
