Crutchlow happy in rain

The Briton broke his left collarbone in five places in the accident, and had a plate and screws inserted to heal the bone last week.

He decided he was well enough to ride this weekend and made a very promising start in the only session held before a Moto2 oil spill forced the rest of the day's action to be cancelled.

"I was happy enough this morning but the rain has made it easier for me," said Crutchlow. "I think it would be really difficult in the dry, particularly changing direction in the fast chicanes. The last chicane is quite difficult because you go from right to left and that is even worse on the shoulder.

"The shoulder just feels quite sore and I'm pretty cautious with it. I'm definitely aware of it and when I start to go fast I think I should slow down a bit.

"In the wet conditions it doesn't hurt that much, but I'm really wary because the last thing I need is another crash on it."

Crutchlow admitted that he was not keen on the thought of a fully dry race at present.

"To be honest I hope it rains all weekend because it will make it easier on me," he said. "If it's a dry race then it will be a long 26 laps on Saturday with a plate and a load of screws in my collarbone, but I will do my best as always."

His Tech 3 Yamaha team-mate Colin Edwards also broke his collarbone this month, though his injury was more straightforward than Crutchlow's. Edwards was able to finish on the podium at Silverstone just a week after his Catalunya accident, and said he felt fine at Assen today.

"Physically I feel great," Edwards declared. "The collarbone feels fantastic and the muscle damage around the ribs I damaged in the Catalunya crash is a lot less painful. I sneezed in bed last night and didn't cry for the first time in about three weeks, so that's a bonus."