MotoGP: Cal Crutchlow To Replace Franco Morbidelli At Petronas SRT Yamaha For Next 3 Races

Former LCR Honda rider Cal Crutchlow will be returning to the MotoGP grid soon as replacing Franco Morbidelli at the Petronas SRT Yamaha racing team for the next three races. The rider was left without a seat at the end of the last season as Honda made room at LCR to accommodate Alex Marquez, while Pol Espargaro joined the factory team. This left Crutchlow with no other option but join Yamaha as its official test rider. Nevertheless, the rider gets a shot at racing in the premier-class championship once again for the next three races.

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Cal Crutchlow secured his last MotoGP victory in the Argentinian GP in 2018

Morbidelli underwent knee surgery ahead of last month's Dutch TT after aggravating a pre-existing injury he suffered during training earlier this year. With Morbidelli in recovery, Crutchlow will be his stand-in starting with the Austria doubleheader scheduled next weekend (August 6-8) and the next week (August 13-15), followed by the British GP at Silverstone later between August 27-29, 2021.

Speaking on returning to the grid, Crutchlow said, "It's great to be back riding with Yamaha this year as the official test rider and to be able to step in when needed is good for all parties. I'm looking forward to riding for Petronas Yamaha SRT in the three Grands Prix. Obviously, it's not in the best circumstances and I wish Franco a good recovery, I hope he comes back strongly after the knee surgery. I'm sure he will because he's been riding fantastically over the last two years."

"I think it's difficult to set targets for these three races and it will be more about understanding the bike, as I've had limited riding days this year. The good thing will be that I can compare the bikes and I should be able to gather a lot of data for Yamaha. It's a bit like being thrown in the deep end, as it's a very competitive MotoGP class, but I'm really looking forward to it and it's going to be good to be back on the grid," he added further.

Apart from Cal Crutchlow, Dani Pedrosa also returns to the grid after retirement for KTM in Austria next weekend

Crutchlow made his MotoGP debut in 2011 with the bLU cRU and went on to join the Tech 3 Yamaha satellite squad before moving to Ducati in 2014. He joined LCR Honda in 2015 until he retired last year. Crutchlow has had a strong record as a midfielder with a couple of wins under his belt too. Petronas SRT can expect the rider to score crucial points for the team alongside Valentino Rossi.

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"Cal will be able to rack up some good mileage on our M1, which should aid him with his testing and development work for Yamaha," said Petronas Yamaha SRT Principle Razlan Razali. "Cal will replace Franco for the next three races and we have no real targets for him in terms of results. We will do all we can to help support him and make him feel comfortable in the team."

Crutchlow isn't the only rider from the old guard making a wildcard entry after the summer break. Former Honda rider Dani Pedrosa will return to the grid as the KTM wildcard, nearly three years after hanging up his boots at the end of 2018. Since then Pedrosa has been an integral part of KTM's MotoGP development program and credited for playing an instrumental role in making the young team a winner so early on.