P1racenews AI automatic summary:
Crutchlow: Wild-card an ‘opportunity to do something different’
Cal Crutchlow, an Englishman, won three MotoGP races for Honda before becoming a test rider for Yamaha starting in 2021. He has also been a replacement rider for Yamaha for the past two seasons, but the Motegi race will be his first official ‘wild-card’ entry. Yamaha has only its factory team of Fabio Quartararo and Franco Morbidelli since the beginning of this year, and Crutchlow’s aim is to test prototype parts and accelerate bike development. Crutchlow has been working with the Yamaha test team throughout the season to improve the bike for the current and next season. He looks forward to the opportunity to race at Motegi and hopes to help the team with the best set-up for the race weekend in Japan and the remainder of the season. Yamaha’s mission is to win back the championship title, and they believe that the wild-card entry and Crutchlow’s support will assist the factory team. Although Yamaha is currently facing a challenging MotoGP season, they are boosted by Quartararo’s recent podium finish and are motivated for their home race in Japan. Morbidelli will be making his final appearance at Motegi for Yamaha before moving to Pramac Ducati in 2024. He visited the Yamaha headquarters to say goodbye to the employees and is determined to enjoy the race weekend to the fullest.
Source: Crash
