Why Yamaha’s MotoGP rivals should fear Crutchlow’s return

A golden chapter in Britain's MotoGP history will come to a close at the drop of the chequered flag in Portugal, as Cal Crutchlow effectively steps down from full-time racing to take on a new role as Yamaha's official test rider.

The 35-year-old jumped into the premier class in 2011 following a single race-winning campaign in World Superbikes with Yamaha, having won the Superport world title with the marque in 2009. Rookie of the year amidst a tough debut season, Crutchlow would go onto score six podiums across 2012 and 2013 on the Tech3-run M1 before switching to the factory Ducati squad for 2014.

Coming away with one podium at Aragon after another difficult year, Crutchlow moved to Honda and LCR in 2015. He was on the podium by round three in Argentina and the following year, he ended a 35-year wait for another British MotoGP winner when he took victory in a rain-lashed Czech Grand Prix. He added another at Phillip Island in the dry - arguably his finest ride - later that year and became a factory-contracted HRC rider in 2018, adding a third win to his tally in a hectic Argentina race that season.

Able to run with and beat the best of them on a number of occasions, the unapologetically open and honest Briton bows out at the end of an injury-hit 2020 season with no regrets.

"I've done everything I wanted and everything I could," Crutchlow said when Autosport sat down with him via Zoom to discuss his future. "Obviously, I wanted to win more races, but I exceeded what I thought I could do in MotoGP."

Contrary to what the couch racers on social media will have you believe, Crutchlow's not conceding defeat to his body's pains. Quite the opposite, in fact. It's true Crutchlow has spent only a handful of sessions on his Honda since February not injured, having broken his wrist ahead of the Spanish GP, which ultimately led to arm-pump issues requiring surgery in August.

Complication from the surgery forced him out of the Misano double-header, and the brutal onslaught of triple-headers in this coronavirus-affected season hasn't given him a chance to heal properly.

"[Aprilia] wanted to wait for Andrea and I was not waiting for Andrea. So I told them before the announcement that Andrea had been banned that I didn't want to do it anyway" Cal Crutchlow

But that didn't stop him putting his RC213V on the front row for the Aragon GP, nor did it shake his belief in his own speed or in the place he feels he more than deserved on the grid.

PLUS: Why Crutchlow's future ambitions won't be broken by miserable 2020

Handed his notice by Honda earlier in the year to make way for Alex Marquez, who in turn has been cleared out of the factory HRC squad for Pol Espargaro, Crutchlow engaged in discussions with Aprilia. But its desire to hold out for Andrea Iannone's doping ban appeal results - which became a drawn-out process - lost it one of the fastest riders of the modern era. So, when Iannone was hit with a four-year ban, Crutchlow's mind was already made up.

"Essentially, yes, they wanted me to go there, I was speaking with them since March and they had from March to sign the agreement, but they wanted to wait for Andrea," he told Autosport. "And I was not waiting for Andrea. So, I told them before the announcement that Andrea had been banned that I didn't want to do it anyway."

He hastened to add: "It's a great project, Massimo Rivola [Aprilia CEO] runs a great project and I hope they continue to do very, very well and improve and I wish them all the luck in the sport. But I didn't want to do it, it's as simple as that. I wanted to do the project that was put on the table in front of me from Yamaha."

It's been no secret Yamaha has been in the market for a test rider. The tie-up with three-time world champion Jorge Lorenzo hasn't worked out. Though COVID-19 largely affected its test plans this year, Lorenzo hasn't appeared like a rider committed to the role. While he does train, he isn't keeping bike-fit, with his four-second deficit to Aprilia's Aleix Espargaro at the recent Algarve test proof of this.

PLUS: Why Yamaha won't have a Hulkenberg moment with Lorenzo

It's thought outgoing Ducati rider Andrea Dovizioso was close to a deal with Yamaha, but that has come to naught as the Italian has opted instead to take a sabbatical in 2021. It seems, then, Yamaha hasn't had much luck in rekindling relationships with its past riders. Crutchlow, though, will be a totally different story - primarily, because he has his priorities straight.

When Autosport asked what excited him about the Yamaha offer, Crutchlow said: "They need a test rider that is fast, that is willing to be a test rider, among other things, but be happy with being a test rider. Not a test rider who wants to commit to them for a year and then wants to race, which I fully agree with and fully understand.

"I know that I was their choice for a good amount of time, and this was one of the key things they wanted and needed - that the rider wanted to be a test rider and was happy with it. I'm very happy with the deal that was put in front of me."

Dovizioso said he turned down all of his test rider offers largely because none of them kept the door open for a 2022 return. And Lorenzo has never really seen racing as a passion. These are traits Yamaha simply can't afford to tolerate, given the problems it has had with its 2020 M1 - problems that will persist into next year, given the freeze on engine development.

Yamaha's usual issue of a lack of rear grip has reared its head more often than is welcome this year, and the lack of power from its slow - and fragile - engine means the M1 isn't much use when it comes to overtaking.

All of its riders have been critical at numerous stages this season - something that really shouldn't be happening given the 2020 M1 has won four races this year, while Franco Morbidelli on the 2019 bike has scored two victories.

Yet the consistency just hasn't been there with Yamaha: Fabio Quartararo, for example, has just one top five finish to his credit outside of his wins. Vinales has just three. Compared with the ultra-consistency that has guided Suzuki to the brink of championship glory, it's simply not acceptable from Yamaha. And let's not forget, this wildly inconsistent form has come in Marc Marquez's absence. Given the Honda rider scored top two results in all-but one race in 2019, Yamaha is way off target.

PLUS: How Yamaha's engine debacle may cost it the 2020 MotoGP title

But there's a reason both Vinales and Quartararo were excited at the prospect of Crutchlow coming on board to test the bike. Not only is his directness an asset that will prove invaluable, he's also spent years spearheading development of the always-tricky RC213V and could hold his own against Marquez on the same machinery.

"I think you need to be in the 1-1.5-second range of the fastest guy at your manufacturer to be able to give the feedback," Crutchlow said when asked what he thinks he can bring to Yamaha. "Now, that's just it. Over the years I've done a lot of testing with Honda, and I think that I did that role well, as well as racing.

"I'm not going to Yamaha to give them information on Marc Marquez. I'm going to Yamaha to give them information to try and improve their bike to beat Marc Marquez and the rest of everybody else on the grid" Cal Crutchlow

"I will obviously bring all my experience of MotoGP seeing these bikes develop, seeing the electronics develop, the tyres change all the time, and from when I last rode the Yamaha."

Where Crutchlow will aid Yamaha the most is his insistence that it is "important to keep Yamaha's philosophy" when it comes to its bike, which is a strong front end and superb corner speed. But within that framework, Crutchlow can pull his experience of the Honda into improving the bike's weak points - chiefly its rear end, as there won't be much he can do with the current engine - so they're not devaluing the M1's strengths. Most importantly, however, is that Crutchlow isn't going to Yamaha to develop a bike to compare to Marquez - he's going there to make the M1 be able to beat Marquez.

"I'm not going to Yamaha to give them information on Marc Marquez," he explains. "I'm going to Yamaha to give them information to try and improve their bike to beat Marc Marquez and the rest of everybody else on the grid, along with the riders. I think it's very important to be in contact with the riders; of what you've tested, what you've done, what maybe works, what doesn't and things like that.

"I think I'm at the right point in my career to be able to do that. I'm still fast, I qualified on the front row at Aragon a couple of weeks ago. I didn't lose speed, Yamaha knows that and I believe in being able to give them small bits of information but evaluate things fast, which I've always been able to do when I tested stuff for Honda."

Crutchlow hasn't completely ruled out racing again but concedes it's "very difficult" to expect to be able to come back after a year away.

But the timing is right for Crutchlow to take a step back. There isn't a soul on planet Earth who hasn't been impacted by COVID-19. Travelling around Europe is an exceedingly risky thing to be doing, regardless of how tight MotoGP's COVID safety protocols are. And Crutchlow is a family man, weary of the worry associated with traveling in these times - of which there is no immediate end in sight.

"Absolutely, absolutely," he said when Autosport asked if his decision to take on the Yamaha role was in part motivated by a desire to spend more time with his family.

"I've travelled for 15 years of my life. It's different, it's very strange this year. I don't want to worry about every time leaving the paddock having another [COVID] test so I can go home and make sure I don't give it [the virus] to [wife] Lucy and [daughter] Willow. And I think it's the right time to do what I'm doing. Personally, professionally, I think I can do something in the same sport but in the different profession.

"Ultimately it was my decision, but of course I want to have my family involved and they'd be a lot happier to have me at home a lot more, that's for sure. I'm never going to stop and sit in an armchair and smoke a cigar. But I'll always ride my bicycle, I'll always be fit, I'll always do other things. But essentially, I believe now is the right time to do what I'm doing and it works really well for me and my family."

Not having Crutchlow lining up on the grid in 2021 will definitely take some adjusting to, and post-session debriefs will be a little less fun. Then there's the fact that the short-term future for British MotoGP hopes has been plunged into uncertainty.

All that aside, the fact he has opted to devote his time to making the Yamaha a championship-winning package again should have the rest of the grid extremely worried...