Former premier class rider and current BBC MotoGP™ commentator Steve Parrish has told motogp.com he thinks Cal Crutchlow can start to believe in himself as a racewinner this season.
The Englishman was impressed by his compatriot’s ride to second place in tricky conditions and with an injured knee last weekend at Le Mans. Parrish also advises Crutchlow to keep focusing on his 2013 performances, rather than worry about next season – with the Monster Yamaha Tech 3’s rider current contract with the team expiring at the end of this year.
On Crutchlow’s race in France, Parrish enthused, “I was very impressed, when arguably some of the more experienced riders were falling by the wayside and having issues he coped with it admirably. We’re all seeing a change in Cal Crutchlow, he’s definitely matured a great deal. He’s become aware of the old cliché that to finish first, first you’ve got to finish.”
“It was a very mature ride and his best ever result. I think he can probably start to believe he can win a race. Maybe he’d need peculiar conditions and he has been saying you can’t win on a satellite bike but he wasn’t so far away on Sunday.”
Regarding, Crutchlow’s current contract situation, former Suzuki and Yamaha rider Parrish stated, “My advice to Cal is to let his management handle that side of things and just get out there and ride his motorcycle as hard as he can, as he clearly is doing. He can then get results and make people stand back and want him. I think he’s already done enough for anyone who has a fast, competitive bike and a fat cheque book to have a look at him.”
On the Tech 3 rider situation for 2014, whereby it appears Crutchlow may not have a ride with them for next season, Parrish admitted, “I have to say I was surprised that Herve (Poncharal) signed a two year contract with Bradley (Smith). I can understand why Herve is looking for a second rider because Cal has said all along he wants to go to a factory team. My understanding is that Yamaha have spoken to Pol (Espargaro) and would like to place him in the Tech 3 team.”
“It’s a tricky scenario but it would look farcical if they had two rookies next year. Well, Bradley wouldn’t be a rookie next year but it wouldn’t be as strong a team as it is now. You need a fast rider and if you can’t find anyone faster than Cal then keep him.”
Regarding Crutchlow’s potential with the Tech 3 Yamaha YZR-M1 compared to the machinery used by the Yamaha Factory Racing riders, Parrish added: “There is not a massive amount of difference in the machinery to a factory bike and if you ask Cal he will say Jorge (Lorenzo) could win races on Cal’s bike. There are differences but it’s about fine tuning. It’s 0.02s per lap difference. I’d say it’s the overall difference of the combined package. That is no detriment to the Tech 3 team, it’s just the resources of the factory team are a great deal more. They can make the motorcycle a more bespoke machine and can tailor it to the rider.”
source : motogp.com
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