Quartararo comes into this weekend’s title decider in Valencia 23 points down on Ducati’s Francesco Bagnaia and must win on Sunday to have any hope of retaining his world championship.
The Frenchman has been lavished in praise by some of his rivals – including Bagnaia – for the job he has done in keeping the MotoGP title alive despite the difficulties he has faced with the underpowered Yamaha in 2022.
Crutchlow, who has helped spearhead develop Yamaha’s bikes for the past two years and has ridden with manufacturers when the likes of Valentino Rossi, Jorge Lorenzo and Marquez have been present, sees similarities between both Quartararo and Marquez.
“I had the chance to ride with Valentino, Lorenzo, [Andrea] Dovizioso, Dani [Pedrosa],” Crutchlow told Motorsport.com in an exclusive interview on Thursday at Circuit Ricardo Tormo when asked to compare Quartararo with the other MotoGP greats he has raced with.
“I’ve been in the manufacturers with the best riders at the time.
“Marc and Fabio ride the absolute opposite, you can’t imagine. But why I say that they have the same effect is they have the same effect on the manufacturer.
“And they also have the same effect on the other riders in the manufacturer. This is a strange statement to make, but they have an ability to crack their other teammates, or people in the manufacturer because nobody can do what they can do.
“They take the positive and the strongest point of the bike where nobody else can, or their strongest point is the strongest point of the bike as well and it just works.
“So, they have that effect that they are just superior and I see that. I don’t mean the Honda was the best bike either and I don’t think the Yamaha was the best bike, but both of them managed to win world titles on something that was not [capable of winning the title].
Cal Crutchlow, RNF MotoGP Racing
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
“That’s why I think they’ve both got… they are completely different people, they’re at completely different manufacturers and they ride completely different. But they have that special effect.”
Crutchlow added: “What we have to remember is, Fabio has never ridden a different MotoGP bike and he’s so talented.
“He’s very similar to Marc Marquez, he’s not riding around the problem. He understands the problem, he gets the problem.
“But he’s making the time in a different way. But there’s only so long that can last.
“We need to improve the bike and the package for the riders. And they’re [Yamaha] definitely taking it seriously.
“I have 27 staff come to a test, it’s a full effort. When we go to a test, we have four garages, and they’re full of stuff.
“We work hard, but you can only give them so much information and tell them so many times what you’re feeling.
“And you’ve got to let them bring their parts to be able to fix that. And they have. The biggest concern for Fabio was the top speed. But with that comes other problem.”