Yamaha Sterilgarda WSBK rider...
Yamaha Sterilgarda WSBK rider Cal Crutchlow will move up to the Monster Tech 3 Yamaha MotoGP team in 2011.
As mentioned in Sunday’s coverage of the Misano MotoGP event, following the Nürburgring round of the World Superbike Championship, Yamaha quickly announced that current Yamaha Sterilgarda rider Cal Crutchlow will indeed make the move to MotoGP in 2011, as the Brit will take the place of current Monster Tech 3 Yamaha rider Ben Spies, who in turn is moving on to replace Valentino Rossi on the factory Fiat Yamaha team. Crutchlow signed a two-year contract, meaning he'll have the opportunity to use the first year for learning without the pressure of a single season contract. Current MotoGP rules prohibit rookie riders from signing with a factory team, although the career progression is a natural one for Crutchlow. The 24-year-old from Coventry, England, garnered the World Supersport championship for Yamaha in ’09 before the factory team was disbanded to budget cuts, and was quickly snapped up by the Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike team for its ’10 campaign. Crutchlow earned his first WSBK victories at Silverstone in August, where he scored an impressive double win for the home fans.
“Being part of the Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team has been fantastic,” said Crutchlow in a press release. “When I first signed with Yamaha for the 2009 World Supersport Championship we went on to win the World Championship and the natural progression was to move to World Superbike. It was an honor to be asked to be part of the team and to remain as part of the Yamaha family. Now I’m again taking another step and I am being brought through to the Tech3 Team as they have done with other riders such as Ben Spies in the past. I first rode for Yamaha in 2003 in the R6 Cup so have a great history with them. Moving to MotoGP is a great opportunity for me, it was an honor to be asked by Herve Poncheral and for Yamaha to back me. I intend to do the best job I can with the team next year, be humble, learn and enjoy the experience.”
Gresini Honda MotoGP rider...
Gresini Honda MotoGP rider Marco Melandri will take Crutchlow's spot on the Yamaha Sterilgarda team next year.
Taking Crutchlow’s spot in the Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike team will be current Gresini Honda MotoGP rider Marco Melandri. The Italian rider was hoping for a career resurgence in rejoining the Gresini Honda squad where he saw his greatest success in ’05, finishing second in the MotoGP World Championship with two wins. But after two disappointing years with Ducati and the ill-fated Kawasaki MotoGP effort, Melandri’s results this year so far have been middling at best.