Crutchlow turned down chance for Moto2 ride
Added on Sunday, January 3rd, 2010 by Carole Nash Editor
Crutchlow turned down chance for Moto2 ride
World Supersport champion Cal Crutchlow has revealed that he was close moving toMoto2 before signing with Yamaha for the 2010 World Superbike champion.
The Coventry-born rider, who won the WSS championship in his first season after moving from BSB, claimed that the opportunity to stick with Yamaha eventually swayed his decision despite a strong offer from Gresini for a ride in Moto2.
The 24-year-old believed that he was confident of making a success of a stint in Moto2, with the eventual aim t graduate to MotoGP.
“Going to World Superbikes is good for me,” the Coventry-born star told Crash.net Radio, “because it lets me stay with Yamaha. They had a two-year deal with me, but they never told me whether they wanted to keep me in Superbikes or not – and if they didn’t have a place for me in Superbikes, I was allowed to leave, simple as that.
“That’s why I went down the whole going to Gresini route, and that’s what I evidently wanted to do because I wanted to go into GP racing, and I felt I could have gone into the Moto2 championship and won straight away. I was very, very confident of that, especially if I was able to take my crew with me from this year.
“Yamaha said to me they wanted to keep me for Superbikes, and I accepted that and am now looking forward to the challenge. I’ve got a job to do and that’s it. I’ve got a new Yamaha contract now, and hopefully that will take me to MotoGP in the end if I do a good enough job; even if I don’t, I can always look at Moto2 the year after, but my job is fully focussed on working hard and getting some good results in World Superbikes.”
