Cal Crutchlow has ridden his Yamaha M1 for next season

Rider Cal Crutchlow has tested the Yamaha M1 he will ride next season in the MotoGP World Championship, where he joins to fill the vacant seat at Monster Tech3 after Spies’ departure to the Japanese manufacturer’s factory team.

He has not had much time to rest, as it has been just two weeks since the Superbike season ended and he is already under way to start preparing for the premier class of motorcycle racing, since many SBK riders cannot adapt or get to grips with the bike afterwards, as was the case with James Toseland (although he had good results in some races).

The Briton had his first test, lasting a day and a half at Fukuroi, Japan, where the manufacturer has its own test track, so he chose the best place to understand both the bike and himself in this new category.

Below you can see the rider’s statements:

The M1 seems smaller than my Superbike Yamaha R1. In fact, I found the riding position more comfortable than the WSB bike. You can tell it has a lot of power but it seems usable; it is a very different bike from a production machine when it comes to power delivery.

In the wet we used the standard steel brakes, but when the track started to dry I had the chance to try the carbon ones, which I liked a lot; I managed to feel quite at home with them.

The chassis feels very rigid, it is very easy to change direction, and the electronics are very different, even more advanced than in Superbike, where the level is already high.

It’s a pity the weather didn’t cooperate, which prevented me from fully confirming the bike’s whole potential. I look forward impatiently to the Valencia test to get back on the bike and do more complete testing.

We will keep an eye on MotoGP.

Source | MotoGP Official website