Cal Crutchlow was 'happy enough' to finish day one of the 😼Dutch MotoGP in fifth posit🐟ion (+0.434s), as the top Honda rider.

The Englishman felt he would🐻 be in the podium fight if the race took place today, but is now hoping to make his LCR Honda more stable and get a clearer idea of tyre ✃choice on Saturday. 

"The bike is working well, the lap times seem quite consistent. B♈ut it doesn't seem easy to do," Crutchlow said.&nbs😼p;

"I'm struggling in the first and seconဣd sector. Marc maybe not so much. But I feel the bike is a little bit difficult to 🎶change direction at the moment.

"As you’ve seen from the TV it's shaky quite a lot and a little bit unstable, but the positive points are that the la😼p time is consistent. Just not easy to do and tomorrow we hope it will get better.

"I'm please𒐪d enough with fifth. I think if the race was as of now that we can be competitive for the podium. Tomorrow may change, the air temp is going to go up, which causes us a little bit more difficulty normally. But we'll see."

Indeed, an even higher track temperatur♔e could make the hard-front ty๊re a clear preference for the race.

"We tried the hard and the medium fronౠt tyre today. The hard was - as you saw from Marc's save in Turn 6," Crutchlow said, referring to another big save from the reigning world champion.

"As I told my guys, I was taking it easy through turn six and🐠 turn twelve because if that was me [having the Marquez moment] they'd h๊ave a snapped chassis and a bike in 50 pieces. 

"As we know, Marc can save them a💜nd no-one 🅠else can.

"The problem is if you take it easy, you don't have enough heat or grip as such. So [front tyre choice] is a little bit borderline I think a🌌t the moment, but the track temperature is supposed to come up and I think that will work in our favour a little bit to be able to use that tyre. 

"At the moment the medium feels a little bit soft on one side. I think Ducati and 🔯Yamaha are in the same situation, but [for them it's] betꦬween the soft and medium."

Marquez was only ranked eighth on the Friday timesheets, but did not fit a new soft rear tyre🍃 at the end of the session.