The Union Jack will appear on the MotoGP grid for the first time this weekend in 2021, when Cal Crutchlow paves the way back to the premier class with Petronas SRT Yamaha.
The three-time MotoGP race winner has been called up to replace the injured Franco Morbidelli on the Petronas SRT Yamaha, where he will compete this weekend with Valentino Rossi for the Styria MotoGP as well as the following MotoGP of Austria and his British home MotoGP.
Not only is this his first MotoGP start since his full-time racing career at the close of the 2020 season, but also Crutchlow’s first outing on Yamaha machines since he left Tech 3 Racing for Ducati in 2013.
After half a year of no competition, Crutchlow admits he’s not setting any goals for his return to the action.
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“I’m really looking forward to getting back on the grid and getting a race weekend going again, although it will feel very different from the job I did this year as a Yamaha test rider.
“The track in Spielberg hasn’t been too much fun for me in the past, but in 2018 I finished fourth and that was a good result. It’s not a quick and flowing route, but a place where you have to be quick and very precise. I have no goal when it comes to results, my main goal will just be to try to improve from session to session.
“I will work with Ramon Forcada, who knows the Yamaha bike very well. I think it’s going to be fine like Ramon was with Yamaha back then. I am sure it will be fine; I just want to make sure I’m doing a good job for the team.
How will Cal Crutchlow perform when he returns to MotoGP?
Crutchlow describes the Red Bull Ring as a venue he “hasn’t enjoyed too much in the past” and comes into the Styrian MotoGP with the odds stacked against him.,
After Crutchlow moved from Honda to Yamaha to become its official development rider, Crutchlow hasn’t done too many laps on the M1.
Plus, the short, fast-paced Austrian venue has not suited the Yamaha in the past, while Crutchlow will be content with a bike that hasn’t changed much as of 2019 and is consistently rooted at the bottom of the speed trap charts.
As such, Crutchlow will be using Rossi on the sister – but newer – as his destination for the weekend.
On the other hand, as long as Crutchlow’s weekend goes better than Morbidelli’s last year – when the Italian was involved in a terrifying accident with Johann Zarco that almost caught up with Rossi and Maverick Vinales – there will be some passion.