The three-time MotoGP race winner has been Yamaha’s lead test rider since retiring from full-time competition at the end of the 2020 season.
The Japanese marque currently only has three podiums in a difficult 2023 season, while a recent test at Misano failed to produce much in the way of positive feedback from Fabio Quartararo and Franco Morbidelli.
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Crutchlow will compete in his first MotoGP round this weekend in Japan since Valencia last year when he deputised for the retired Andrea Dovizioso, and told the media on Thursday his Motegi outing was necessary because “we don’t test enough”.
“After seven months of not racing, it’s difficult to jump back in,” he began.
“I was happy testing, but when they said ‘do you want to do a wildcard’, we needed to because we don’t test enough.
“We need extra time on the track and this was an opportunity to do that, and obviously Motegi makes sense for Yamaha to have the bikes here.
“I think it makes sense to test a bit more: whether we have anything new to test is always a big story. We’ll see what we can do.”
On testing right now, he added: “It’s difficult when you are alone, I was alone on track [at Motegi test] as I have been at most tests this year.
“So, to have some reference is always difficult. But I went ok, I was happy with the way I was going. But obviously I’m not massively happy with the development process at the moment.”
He believes the engine which Quartararo said he “expected much more” from at Misano is the right direction to go in, but concedes it didn’t make the step it needed.
And asked where he felt Yamaha needs to improve, he continued: “Fucking a lot, because at the moment we don’t develop in the way we should.
Source: Autosport