Cal Crutchlow arrived in MotoGP in 2011 as an exciting prospect. He finished third in the British Superbike Championship, and won the Supersport world title at Yamaha.
A year before moving to Grand Prix racing, Crutchlow finished fifth in the World Superbike standings, scoring three wins and 10 podiums. Tech3, then Yamaha’s satellite team, were delighted to have it in the premier class.
He spent his first three years with the French outfit, scoring four podiums and 188 points in P5 in the Championship in 2013. That would be a career-best showing.
His performance that year to Ducati Factory team, but his stay in Bologna was short-lived. A year later, he switched to the Honda-aligned LCR team.
Crutchlow scored his first career win at the 2016 Czech Republic GP and added two more in LCR colours. However, he was never able to make a championship run.
He announced his retirement from full-time racing at the end of 2020. He has since made a cameo appearance, and will remain a Yamaha test rider in 2024.
Davide Tardozzi ‘never understood’ why Cal Crutchlow chose to leave Ducati.
Speaking to journalist Giovanni Zammagni on his YouTube channel, Ducati’s David Tardozzi reflected on the team’s brief relationship with Crutchlow. He confirmed to Zammagni that he has a contract for 2015.
However, Tardozzi believes the rider has been misled by management. Optimistic about the future, Crutchlow was shocked when he decided to leave in August.
As he went on to win races in the Honda stable, Tardozzi suspected he regretted the move. The Japanese manufacturers were still dominant, with Ducati breaking their neck in 2020.
Looking back at the launch event with Crutchello and Andrea Dovizioso in 2014, Tardozzi said: “Unfortunately, for some reason – I never understood why – Cal, pushed by the manager, decided to leave in the middle of the season. I was confused.
“Look, you can only get better with the new bike,” I said. In my opinion, he regretted this decision. Everyone who was with him at that time convinced him that the best option was to go to Honda.
Who will be the next British rider in MotoGP after Cal Crutchlow’s retirement?
Crutchlow was struggling with teammate Dovizioso in 2014. He scored just 74 points to the Italian’s 187.
But Dovizioso had a year’s experience on the bike, and maybe Tardozzi and co. Improvement is expected from Crutchlow once he fully acclimatises. They didn’t get a chance to see the project.
He remains the last Briton to compete full-time in the premier class. The Spaniards and Italians dominate the series – Crutchlow’s victory in the Czech Republic was the first for a UK rider since Barry Sheene in 1981.
Jake Dixon has started two races for Yamaha in the 2021 season and continues to race in Moto2, but at 29, he looks like he belongs. MotoGP The window is closed. 21-year-old Scott Ogden finds himself in Moto3 for a fourth consecutive season, but there is some excitement around teenager Eddie O’Shea ahead of his first full year in the lightweight division.
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