The British rider, who returned to the Yamaha fold in 2021 after his career as a full-time rider came to an end following the 2020 season, made the remarks in the wake of his wildcard outing in last weekend’s Japanese Grand Prix at Motegi.
Crutchlow’s first race outing since last year’s Valencia season finale came amid a year in which he has spent long periods on the sidelines in between tests.
He believes Yamaha must change to a more consistent schedule if he is to sign up to a new deal as test rider as his existing arrangement expires at the end of the year.
Asked by Autosport whether he would be back as a Yamaha tester in 2024, Crutchlow replied: “I don’t know yet. It needs to be discussed.
“They want me to sign a new three-year agreement. We will see, but they have to change the testing plan, because the plan at the moment is not good enough.
“This year I had nine weeks off after Sepang, then I did three tests in two weeks, then I had 14 weeks off and then I did three tests in two weeks again. You can’t do it like that.
“We need to make sure I’m more consistently on the bike, also for the engineers. That’s how you make progress.
“Hopefully they come up with a better plan, and I’ll make a decision then.”
Source: Autosport