[h=2]At the press conference[/h]Since making his MotoGP debut in 2011, Cal Crutchlow has always competed with the French Tech3 outfit which last year helped to deliver his first ever podium finish. During the mid-summer break which ends at Indianapolis this weekend, it was confirmed that the Englishman had signed with Ducati for the next two seasons. Cal Cruthlow "After Laguna we decided that we were going to stay in America and take a break here, but it wasn’t too much of a break. "We had a busy first week and then we obviously released that I will be riding for Ducati next year. I am really pleased and it was nice to get that done, as we can now settle for the rest of the year and see how that goes." Crutchlow added that the most difficult part of his decision was waving goodbye to an outfit with which he has become particularly attached since joining MotoGP™. "Yes, there are pros and cons for everything. The most difficult thing was making the phone call to Herve. It was quite an emotional phone call. It was a difficult decision to make but I am pleased to have secured my future. My main focus for now is to continue riding for Tech3 and then hopefully we can take that motivation into next year." The move means that, in 2014, Crutchlow will be reunited with Italy’s Andrea Dovizioso who was first a teammate at Tech3 for the 2012 season. Cal talks about the bike "I think there is a lot to be improved, the strong point is that it’s fast, but the rest I don’t know. It’s too early to turn around and make a comment. I don’t know whether at the moment it suits my style and doesn’t suit others guys, but at the moment I can’t comment. "I would never make a comment on the way guys have ridden it - it’s not for me to say. Obviously Valentino has ridden it, Andrea and Nicky. How do I know I won’t just jump on it and I won’t need to make a change at all? Obviously it needs to improve but it is too early to comment on others." Cal on his deal with Ducati "As I said, Yamaha and the team I am riding for is great. It was a difficult decision to leave, but in terms of a contract I believe the one I was being offered was a lot better than the one I have. I spoke with people around me and with Herve. It wasn’t tough in the sense of anything else, but it was tough to leave the team." Halfway through the 2013 season, Crutchlow lies fifth in the Riders’ Championship and 37 points in arrears of leader Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team), while highest-placed Ducati rider Dovizioso is seventh and 82 points behind the leader. from MotoGP.com
wish him all the best but can't help worrying that limb damage will now follow plus almost inevitably he will find himself back in the middle of the pack and less in the headlines. Of course Cal has realised the latter, I just hope he can also deal with the frustration regardless of monetary benefits. (MOO).
What I find hard to understand is why the MotoGP world thinks it's a bad thing to think about money? If a rider has the talent to be sought out by factories, why would he ride for a pittance if he could get paid a lot more elsewhere? It's a relatively short career for these guys, plus they risk life and limb everytime they race. Audi have now had input into Ducati for some time. Ducati has made race winners in the past and knows how to build a bike. The wealth of the VAG group, together with the collective knowledge of Audi and Ducati, surely it is only a matter of time before the Duke is leading the way again! It isn't that long ago that Honda really struggled, across more than one season, to get their bike performing, now look at it! Cal does have an aggressive style. Casey did have some battles with the bike, especially after 2007, and Cal has a similar, aggressive style that can put the bike on the top step again. I think Cal has made the right decision, both financially and career wise. If his bum is on the seat when the bike comes good, and it will, he is going to be the man to beat!
