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skidlids 01-Aug-2013 22:01

BBC Reporting Cal Crutchlow to join Ducati
 
Apparently he has agreed a two year deal which should be announced tomorrow

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/motogp/23536326

I'm hoping it works out for both him and Ducati

Not sure what his other options for 2014 would have been

He wouldn't have got into any of the other works teams

Possibly a works Honda in a Satellite, but its rarely they win a race and the wage is probably made up from personal sponsorship

Who's going to be running the new Production Honda's, will it be those who currently have the Satellite works bikes

Are Tech3 keeping the Yamaha's in 2014

Will CRT be taking a bigger step forward

more questions than answers

I was reading about control ECUs the other day and future plans for MotoGP with CRT and Prototypes eventually merging around 2017

With things as they are and with the way Cal has been going this year it might well be the right move for him, time will tell

ChrisBushell 02-Aug-2013 08:11

Kev,

I get the feeling that a bit like Rossi 3 years ago, Yamaha have backed Cal into a corner by apparently not offering full works kit for 2014 and I would assume that Ducati have offered a big fat cheque for a couple of years.

The life of a MotoGP rider is relatively short and they need to bank the money when they can.

The other part of the argument is that Audi have deep enough pockets to pay for the R&D to get them out of this mess. If, as a lot of commentators have alluded, the problem lies with lack of feel through the front end - then that is a fixable engineering problem, just takes time and a lot of money - both of which are available.

Could this move have been on the cards for longer though? I seem to remember hearing in the coverage at Mugello, that Cal has bought a holiday home near the track, which is probably not much than an hour from the factory.

ells 02-Aug-2013 13:17

I think with the 4 real works riders having contracts for next year then something like this has been one of the few options.

The improved performance of Bradl and Bautista shows that they realised they could be removed. While the Ducati could be fixed with the wealth and resources of Audi you would wonder why it was not done for Vale when he was there?

Here's hoping it does work out.

Mark

MJS 02-Aug-2013 22:27

I don't get this.....:confused:


Why is it that riders think they can go to Ducati, and all the problems will get fixed? How many more careers are going to end in Bologna?
Give it 2-3 years and Cal will end up back in WSB.... ala Marco Melandri... Surely Cal has looked at Dovi and must realise that even if it is a coveted factory bike, it's a step backwards....:o

skidlids 02-Aug-2013 23:02

I don't think its to hard to Understand. He was out of contract at the end of the season so what else was on offer. It had already been mentioned that Espargaro would be moving to Tech3 alongside Bradley. Jorge and Vale are staying put as are Pedrosa and Marquez.
There is nothing to say Bradel or Bautista will be moving on and I bet they don't get paid a great deal compared to a factory rider.
So alternatives may have been a CRT ride, a privateer Honda or a move back to WSBk
If those are the alternatives how can a move to the Factory Ducati be considered a bad move, it could well turn out to be a case of right place, right time

antonye 03-Aug-2013 00:24

...and don't forget he's being reunited with his team-mate from last year at Tech 3, Andrea Dovizioso!


misterpink 03-Aug-2013 21:45

Best of luck to him.. and ducati i hope he can pass Dovi more than he did on the tech3. Who knows Cal might just be able to "boss" the thing to the front? and now we got 2 reasons to cheer on the bologna boys... if only i could watch it, but stupid dorna put it on stupid BT sport !!! Grrrrrrrrr


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