Qatar MotoGP, 19-20 March
Saturday 19 March: Qualifying: 1450-1805, BBC Red Button/online. Sunday 20 March: 125cc and Moto2: 1550-1805, BBC Red Button/online. MotoGP live: 1830-2000, BBC Two/online. MotoGP repeat: 0000-0130, BBC Two

Crutchlow cannot wait for Qatar

British rider Cal Crutchlow's pre-season testing ended painfully after a heavy crash caused him to lose the tip of the little finger on his left hand.

Crutchlow's hand was trapped under the handlebar of his bike when he crashed on Turn 10 of Qatar's Losail circuit.

However, the injury does not require surgery and the Tech 3 Yamaha rider is still looking forward to his MotoGP debut in Sunday's Qatar Grand Prix.

He finished the pre-season test in 15th place after completing only 28 laps.

The 26-year-old former World Superbike rider said: "It is a shame because I was only 0.5 seconds away from the top 10 last night.

"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 tonight and I'm sure I could have done without the crash."

Crutchlow said the crash was caused by a ''silly 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," he added.

Although he missed three hours of valuable track time because of the crash, the Coventry-born rider, is still positive about making his MotoGP bow.

"It will be an honour to line-up against this field on Sunday night and as always I'll be giving it my best," he commented.

Crutchlow, who won the World Supersport Championship in 2009, agreed a two-year deal with Tech 3 Yamaha team in September.

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