Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd. and Yamaha Motor Racing are delighted to announce that experienced and successful MotoGP-rider Cal Crutchlow will be reinforcing the Yamaha Factory Racing Test Team for the 2021 season.
Starting from the MotoGP shakedown test, scheduled in Sepang, Malaysia from 14th – 16th February, Crutchlow will ride the YZR-M1. He will also take part in Official IRTA Tests and other private Yamaha tests, with the aim to help Yamaha‘s engineers with the MotoGP development programme. Crutchlow‘s 10 years of experience in MotoGP, riding for three different manufacturers, make him the ideal rider for the job.
A Wild Card appearance is possible if deemed beneficial to the testing programme, and Crutchlow has also confirmed his availability for selection as replacement rider in the unfortunate case where one of Yamaha‘s MotoGP riders might be forced to miss a Grand Prix through illness or injury.
Crutchlow and Yamaha go a long way back. The Briton famously won the 2009 World Supersport Championship (WorldSSP) with Yamaha. He then moved up to the World Superbike Championship (WorldSBK) the following year and scored ten podiums, including three wins, to finish fifth in the overall standings. This success opened up an opportunity to make his MotoGP debut in 2011 with Yamaha‘s satellite team at the time, Monster Energy Yamaha Tech3, where he gained experience for the first three years of his now ten-year-long MotoGP career.
Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd. and Yamaha Motor Racing wish to sincerely thank 2020 Yamaha Factory Racing Test Rider Jorge Lorenzo for his availability, support, and understanding during this Covid-19 impeded year. Though external circumstances held this partnership back from realising their mutual objectives for 2020, the respect between the two parties remains unchanged. Yamaha wishes Jorge all the best in his future endeavours.
