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About Cal

 

 

Cal Crutchlow is since 2021 testrider for the Yamaha Factory, after retiring as a full- time racer in the MotoGP class in 2020. He occasionaly stands in for injured or retired Yamaha riders in the championship.

Born on 29 October 1985 in Coventry, England, Crutchlow was a relative latecomer to motorcycle racing by modern standards, focusing on football in his early years until a knee injury at age 11 prompted him to follow in his father’s footsteps by turning his attention to bikes in 1996. His progress as a youth was rapid, as he was crowned UK Junior Challenge Champion just three years later.

Crutchlow moved on to manufacturer cup racing, earning the Aprilia RS 125 Challenge title in 2001 and finishing runner up in the Yamaha R6 Cup in 2003. The next year saw him enter the British Supersport Championship aboard a Honda, beginning a three year stint that culminated in winning the 2006 national championship.

That earned Cal a move up to British Superbike the following year with Rizla Suzuki, and his debut season saw him score a pole position at Croft and a podium finish at Brands Hatch, ultimately finishing ninth overall.

For 2008, Cal switched back to Honda machinery with the HM Plant squad, where his performance immediately took a step forward, and thanks in part to a pair of victories, he finished the year third in the standings.

The following year saw Crutchlow advance to the international stage, where he found immediate success. After accepting an offer from the factory Yamaha team to campaign the Supersport World Championship, his consistently fast pace and strong results helped him to earn the title in his debut year.

The accomplishment earned him a promotion to the Superbike World Championship in 2010, and his rookie season saw him take a trio of victories, plus
an additional eight podium finishes, as he rode to fifth position in the final standings.

Once again, Cal was rewarded, this time with a move to MotoGP with Monster Yamaha Tech 3. Crutchlow immediately set to work adapting his riding style to the new class as he rode to twelfth place in the championship, earning Rookie of the Year honors along the way. With a year of experience under his belt, Cal stepped up his performance in 2012, regularly posting top five finishes and in the latter part of the season collecting a pair of podium finishes as well.

That set him up for an even better 2013, as Crutchlow earned the first two MotoGP pole positions of his career and also posted two runner up finishes and a pair of third place results. At year’s end, he was an impressive fifth in the points standings, the best of the non factory riders. This earned him a factory contract with the Ducati Team for 2014.

The season is not going to plan for Cal, with 8 DNF’s, some crashes but also some technical issues, he even has to skip the Argentinian GP after breaking a finger in a crash at the Americas GP. At the Aragon GP Cal takes his first podium for Ducati under very wet conditions. In the three fly-away GP’s he doesn’t score any points ; at Philip Island he is in second in the last lap when he crashes due to problems with the front tire. At Sepang there’s a technical failure, at Motegi another crash. In the last GP at Valencia he takes fifth. Cal signs with the LCR team for 2015, where he will ride a factory spec Honda.

The 2015 season is one with ups and downs. In the first two GP’s Cal takes seventh. At the Argentinian GP there’s a podium. At Jerez he takes fourth. Then three DNF’s in a row; a crash at LeMans, A crash at Mugello and again a crash at Catalunya, when he’s taken off by Aleix Espargaro. At the Duth TT there’s a 6th spot. In Germany a 7th. At Brno there’s another crash and at Silverstone he is taken off by Jack Miller, his teammate, with a podium in sight. At the Misano round he takes 11th, after going in to late to swap bikes. At Aragon he takes 7th, at Motegi and at Philip Island he’s 6th. At Sepang he manages fifth. In the last GP at Valencia he takes 9th. Not the season Cal hoped for; he ends the Championship in 8th.

2016 is the season with very highs and some deep lows; in the first half of the season Cal scores only 40 points in the championship. Starting with two DNFs in Qatar and Argentina. At the Circuit of the Americas he finishes in 16th. At the Spanish GP at Jerez he takes 11th. In France there’s another DNF. In Catalunya he takes 6th. In the Dutch TT he has a crash under very wet conditions, when he is pushing to hard. Then in Germany he takes a well deserved podium, finishing in second behind Marquez. In Austria he takes 15th after a crash mid race and remounting. At Brno Cal is the shining star when he takes his first ever victory in MotoGP. This under changing conditions, going from wet to dry in the race. An absolute high for Cal after a dreadful first half of the season. The next GP is on home soil: the Silverstone round. After taking Pole in a very wet qualifying, Cal is in the mix with the frontrunners and takes a wonderful second spot in front of his homecrowd. At the Misano round Cal takes 8th. At Aragon there’s a 5th, and at Motegi another 5th. The Australian GP at Philip Island is another high for Cal: he takes the win in a dominant way, once in the lead, there is nobody able to follow his pace. A great win for him, and this time in the dry. In the last two rounds there are two DNFs. Cal ends the championship in 7th position.

 

PERSONAL PROFILE

  • Age: 37 (Born 29 October 1985)
  • Birth Place: Coventry, UK
  • Residence: Isle of Man
  • Marital Status: Married to Lucy, father of Willow (2016)
  • Height: 5 ft 6½ in(170cm)
  • Weight: 152 lbs. (69kg)
  • Bike : Yamaha M1
  • Race number: 35
  • GPs started: 157
  • First GP: Qatar GP (2011)
  • Wins: 3
  • Podium places: 19
  • Pole positions: 4
  • First GP pole: Dutch TT (2013)
  • Fastest race laps: 4
  • Points in worldchampionship: 1142

CAREER