Britain’s most successful – and outspoken – MotoGP racer is still fast enough for the demands of Grand Prix even in semi-retirement
Cal Crutchlow unzipped his racing leathers in Portugal at the end of 2020 and believed he’d permanently pulled the brakes on the 220mph cut-and-thrust of the fastest motorcycle racing series in the world. The now 37-year-old transitioned into a principal testing role for Yamaha but found himself immersed back into MotoGP race action as a replacement for four events in 2021 and then six outings this season; the last of which occurred this weekend at the Ricardo Tormo Circuit in Valencia, Spain, the final round of a whirlwind 20-race season.
Ducati rider Francesco Bagnaia clinched the title ahead of last year’s champion Fabio Quartararo of France. The Italian and the Frenchman broke the 10-year stranglehold of the world’s two-wheeled racing series by Spanish riders.
MotoGP has been deprived of a prominent British rider since Crutchlow’s semi-retirement. With three wins and nearly 20 podium appearances in almost 180 starts since his maiden outing in 2011, he has been the UK’s reference in Grands Prix. “I didn’t miss the travel… but I did miss the racing, specifically racing against people I don’t like; it was the competitiveness I missed,” he tells us.
Crutchlow hobbles to our interview. He badly broke his right leg and ankle four years ago in Australia and smashed the same joint in a fast crash a few weeks ago in Thailand. He has a painful back and needs a new shoulder; a procedure that will eventually push the kill switch on his riding career.