Valentino Rossi says he’s hoping that the addition of Cal Crutchlow to the Yamaha test team for 2021 will bring some much-needed improvements for the coming MotoGP season, as the Japanese manufacturer struggles to find consistency after a difficult 2020 campaign for the factory bikes.
The disappointing season was partly caused by crippling engine problems triggered by a batch of bad valves that caused a series of cascading failures that affected the entire year – but while those issues have since been cured and won’t hinder Yamaha in the coming 2021 season, there are still other problems that remain to be addressed.
Simply put, the 2020 bike was incredibly sensitive to changes in conditions, working exceptionally well when things were right (like for Fabio Quartararo’s stunning back-to-back victories at Jerez) and then going nowhere when things changed.
The solution to that lies in part in their chassis, something that Yamaha has tried to solve for 2021 by reverting to a model more akin to the 2019 one that Franco Mobidelli took to three victories and second in the championship last year – albeit with modifications made to hold the ’20 engine, the design of which is sealed for this year.
But with the final end product needed for success likely to be a fine-tuning of how everything from engine to chassis to electronics to suspensions works in harmony, it means that there’s going to be a lot of work to do for Crutchlow in his new role as test rider – and Rossi says he can’t wait to get him to work.
“We expect strong support from Cal,” Ross said when asked by the Race about the impact he expects from Crutchlow. “Because Cal is a MotoGP rider and he rode until recently, until he stopped last year. He’s in good shape.
“He had ridden a Honda for a long time, so he can give Honda some advice. I want to speak to him after his first touch on the bike.
“I think that Cal can make the difference, that he can help Yamaha a lot. I have a good relationship with him and we can work well together, but it depends a lot on his motivation.
“To be a test rider is not easy – you have to find the motivation to push at the limit and understand the bike even if you don’t race.
“This will not be easy for him, and I hope he arrives with good motivation and a good approach. I think this can make the difference.”
However, Crutchlow isn’t expecting a rapid improvement on the opening days of testing, as he knows it’s going to take some time to get back up to speed on a Yamaha M1 after spending six seasons on a Honda RC213V.
“I think the first test is going to be more difficult,” Crutchlow admitted before getting on the bike for the shakedown.
“Just simply because I’ve ridden a different bike for the past seven years.
“My plan is to be on the pace and to give them good information that is valuable enough to make a step, to evaluate things at different tracks.
“But I’m not expecting too much these three days. I have to share the bike with another two riders [fellow Yamaha testers Katsuyuki Nakasuga and Kohta Nozane], and we have to keep the same ergonomic position which won’t be easy.”
Exactly what the remainder of Crutchlow’s 2021 will look like, and when he will get a chance to try out the Yamaha again, remain to be ascertained though, as Yamaha continues to adapt its testing programme to the coronavirus pandemic.
“It changes quite a bit depending on the situation around the world,” Crutchlow said, “but I should have a test next month as well, the first European test.
“What we’re aiming for is to go away from this test with me being comfortable on the bike, so that I can go to Europe alone or without the big infrastructure that’s here, and still be able to make improvements and evaluate things.
“The testing schedule will be mainly European-based, but it does look like I’ll go to Motegi as well, if the isolation period is OK and I’m able to go there and ride.”
