Cal Crutchlow in place of Franco Morbidelli until Silverstone

Yamaha test rider Cal Crutchlow will return to action next week for the Styrian GP on the Red Bull Ring. The Englishman will in fact take the place of Franco Morbidelli, who continues his convalescence after having undergone knee surgery, until the British GP, on his land, at Silverstone.

Crutchlow began his career in MotoGP in 2011 in the fold of the Iwata firm under the colors of the French Tech3 team led by Hervé Poncharal. He spent three seasons there, during which he took six podiums and two pole positions. After a brief detour to Ducati in 2014, the Coventry native joined the ranks of the LCR team until last year.

He won three times on the Honda RC213V until his most recent appearance as a starting rider in Portugal last year. “ It's great to have Yamaha back this year as an official test rider and to be able to be there when needed. It's beneficial for everyone, Crutchlow said.. I look forward to racing in the Petronas Yamaha SRT colors at the next three Grands Prix. Obviously, this is not the best of circumstances and I wish Franco a speedy recovery. I hope he comes back strong after his knee surgery. I'm sure he will because he rode fantastic the last two years. "

Crutchlow to join PETRONAS Yamaha Sepang Racing Team for next 3 races

PETRONAS Yamaha SRT welcomes @calcrutchlow to the Malaysian squad as stand-in for @FrankyMorbido12, who continues his recovery from left knee surgery.

📄https://t.co/WMjnbw78Pc#MotoGP | #PETRONASmotorsports pic.twitter.com/cp59AGhDay

- PETRONAS SRT (@sepangracing) July 28, 2021

The first time Crutchlow took up his duties on the YZR-M1 was during the shakedown in Qatar which preceded the official test on the same track in early March. He then rode during private sessions in Aragon and Jerez. The recovery will not be easy, even if, for the moment, the Petronas team and itself are not setting any objectives. “ It will mainly be about understanding the bike, because I haven't ridden much this year, he added. The good thing is that I can compare the bikes and I should be able to collect a lot of data for Yamaha. It's a bit like being thrown into the deep end, because it's a very competitive category. I'm very excited and it will be good to be back on the grid. I'm looking forward to meeting the team in Austria, although some of the faces will be familiar to me since Wilco Zeelenberg was my team manager in Supersport in 2009 and I raced against Johan Stigefelt a few years ago. So it will be a pleasure to see them again. »

For the record, Crutchlow will team up with Valentino Rossi at Petronas. Between them, the two pilots have a combined age of 77 years old. With Dani Pedrosa, wildcard in Styria at KTM, these will be the only three drivers aged 35 or over on the grid.