Cal Crutchlow is making a sudden return to MotoGP competition, as LCR Honda's replacement for the injured Johann Zarco.
Crutchlow spent six of his 10 full-time seasons in MotoGP with LCR, taking all three of his premier class wins there, and stepped away at the end of 2020 - while picking up a Yamaha test rider role.
He was limited in that Yamaha role due to a hand injury in his final years there, and was officially relieved of the role at the end of last year.
But now a sudden return to MotoGP has materialised for Crutchlow, following the knee injury sustained by LCR regular Zarco during his crash at Barcelona.
Zarco's leg had become entangled with Pecco Bagnaia's Ducati and while he was fortunate to avoid grave injury in being dragged by the bike through the gravel trap, the twisting to his leg did result in damage to his anterior and posterior cruciate ligaments and the meniscus.
His knee is yet to be operated on, and though a recovery timeline has not been estimated the wait for a surgery and nature of the injuries suggests a long recovery.
But LCR's options of slotting in a rider who could fulfil the Zarco stand-in role for any extended period of time appeared limited - hence the likely impetus behind the Crutchlow call-up.
Of Honda's test riders, Aleix Espargaro suffered a significant spine injury in testing last month, Taka Nakagami is presumably busy working on the 850cc project for 2027, and Stefan Bradl has effectively retired from competition.
Any riders Honda could take from its World Superbike programme are constrained by clashes (and also not necessarily in peak fitness).
This all opened the door for a rider like Crutchlow, who should at least be relied on to be vaguely competitive on the bike given his wealth of prior experience.
The LCR team thanked Crutchlow for "his availability, commitment, and willingness to ride the Honda RC213V, reflecting the long-standing bond between the rider and the team throughout the years, and the valuable memories shared together".
Crutchlow has, however, not competed in MotoGP since a 2023 wildcard at Motegi - so could face a steep adaptation challenge.
His call-up reflects a true shortage of MotoGP-ready and capable riders that teams can call up amid the physical toll on the full-time grid exacerbated by the sprint format and expanded calendar; as well as the logistical impossibility to use such stand-in opportunities to evaluate young talent, with all the top prospects who could be given a 'trial run' tied up in Moto2, both contractually and in terms of world-championship ambition.
from The Race https://ift.tt/yMZ8ESH
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