‘It was time to stop’
Cal opens up about racing
Cal Crutchlow is enjoying getting acquainted to life out of the fast lane. No longer is the relentless pursuit of thousandthsof-a-second an obsession for a man who became Britain’s greatest export to the World Championship since Barry Sheene nearly 40 years ago.
The most precious time for Crutchlow the husband, father, World Supersport Champion, MotoGP winner and now ex- racer is the time at his Isle of Man base with wife Lucy and daughter Willow.
Beach walks and gardening mean home life is already moving at a considerably slower pace than the high-octane world of MotoGP, which has been Crutchlow’s second home for almost a decade.
A new chapter as Yamaha’s MotoGP test rider beckons, and speaking exclusively to MCN, the 35-year-old said: “I was in the garden clearing up leaves last week and making more mess than when I started. I thought to myself I should have carried on racing! But I’ve stopped knowing I gave my all in my career. Deciding to stop was incredibly hard but I know it is the time. I had an option to continue and didn’t want to do it. There was no point holding onto something that probably wasn’t going to happen and that’s winning a MotoGP title. But it was hard to tell myself that I was going to stop. From the moment I started racing the goal was to be in MotoGP and I was fortunate to live that dream.”
‘I was ruthless… In three years I went from BSB to MotoGP’
Chasing the dream
From early success in the UK Junior Challenge in 1999 to historic wins in MotoGP, Cal is a rare breed of racer to have won in every class he’s entered. But it was a desire to prove himself on the world stage in 2009 that he believes provided the platform for him to beat the best in MotoGP.
“I won the British Supersport title in 2006 and wanted to move to World Supersport but never got the option. I did 2007 with Rizla Suzuki in BSB and showed signs of speed and I approached Yamaha for a World Supersport ride for 2008 but they turned me down. They didn’t want me and that was very disappointing. It was the job that I wanted, so in 2008 when I was at HM Plant Honda in BSB, I went back to them again because I wanted to get back into Supersport and prove myself on the world stage. I got the ride and won the World Supersport title in my first year and there was a clause in my contract saying I had to move to WSB if I was Champion. I was ruthless in bouncing to different championships because within three years I went from BSB to MotoGP. If I hadn’t done that maybe I would never have had the chance to go to MotoGP.”
Cash or career
Crutchlow took a whopping £500,000 pay cut to pursue his boyhood ambition of racing in MotoGP. BMW, Honda and Yamaha were all offering over three-quartersof-a-million pounds to keep him in WSB, but he gambled on a Tech 3 Yamaha seat in MotoGP in 2011. “Ben Spies won the WSB title in 2009 for Yamaha and was fantastic, so whoever moved into that team had big shoes to fill. It was me and James Toseland and we didn’t fill them. I went to Silverstone and won both races and spoke to Tech 3 boss Herve Poncharal on Sunday night and did the deal there and then. I’d already
‘I’ve stopped knowing I gave my all in my career’
‘For me it was never about the fame or the money’
agreed a renewal deal with Yamaha for World Superbikes but they knew I wanted to go and didn’t want to hold me back. I had good offers elsewhere for WSB and could easily have stayed.
“It was never about going to MotoGP for the money. I gave up a lot in terms of salary but I took the gamble. I don’t live an extravagant life and for me it was never about the fame or the money. I did it because I wanted to be in MotoGP.”
Rude awakening
Three wins, 19 podiums and four pole positions are proof that Crutchlow carved out an incredibly successful career for himself in MotoGP. But few recall how brutally tough his rookie season in 2011 was and how close he came to quitting for an instant return to the World Superbike paddock. “Halfway through that first year I could have easily quit and gone back. I was out of my depth in terms of learning the bike and the tyres compared to productionbased bikes. The Valencia test at the end of 2010 was an unbelievable eye-opener. I’d watched from the inside of the circuit and I remember looking at some of them and thinking ‘what are these guys doing?’. They were so far off the win and I just assumed I’d be way ahead of them. I then rode at the test and I was nowhere near the best. I did an eight-lap run behind one rider who I’d questioned why they were in the race and after that run I couldn’t even see them. It was a big shock and I realised quickly it wasn’t going to be easy as I thought.”
Flash point to turning point
A post-race rollicking at Laguna Seca in 2011 and MotoGP ditching the uninspiring 800cc machines to revert to fire-breathing 1000s again for 2012 helped transform Crutchlow from also-ran to series front-runner.
“I crashed in the race at Laguna Seca and Herve came to my motorhome and just said ‘what are you doing?’ He told me I wasn’t riding well, and I was making too many mistakes and we had a big bust-up. He told me I kept getting beaten by Karel Abraham, so I just yelled ‘go and sign him then’. But I needed that rocket up my arse to understand I needed to do things differently. That was definitely a big turning point in my career. That and the change to 1000cc for 2012. “That bike suited my style more, I could ride it more like a superbike. The 800cc bike seemed very robotic compared to what I was used to. It felt like you could open the throttle to 100%, shut it and brake as late as possible and I couldn’t get my head around that. But I turned it round. I went into the first race of 2012 and beat Dovi [Andrea Dovizioso] on the last lap for fourth. And later that year in Phillip Island, Jorge Lorenzo was on the podium to win the title and Casey Stoner won his last race in Australia before retirement and I remember standing next to them thinking I was in a dream.”
Czech mate
August 21, 2016 is a day that secured Crutchlow his place in British racing folklore when he won in Brno. It had been 35 long years since late legend Sheene had won at Anderstorp in 1981 and Crutchlow said: “It was a massive moment in my career. 2016 was the highlight of my life. My daughter Willow was born just before Brno and it was a huge year for me when I had some great results. I’m not a guy that looks at stats but when I knew I was the first British winner since Sheene it was something I knew I’d always look back on with great pride. I’ve done nothing in my career compared to what Barry did and to be even mentioned in the same sentence as him is always special. I was glad that I was the guy that did it after making the sacrifice to move to MotoGP and coming through the hard times.”
Beginning of the end
Released by Honda before the Covid-19 disrupted season commenced in July, it was an injury-ravaged final season that contributed hugely to Crutchlow’s decision to end his full-time racing career in MotoGP.
He said: “When I came home from Aragon I finally decided to stop. I did talk with Aprilia, but one big thing was all the injuries I had throughout this year. I had surgeries and didn’t recover from them well and my life from July was at the circuit or a hospital. I wasn’t happy racing for three weeks and then coming home and spending nearly every day in hospital trying to fix my arm, wrist or shoulder. It dawned on me then how difficult it was going to continue in this way. I’ve always acknowledged not being the most talented rider on the grid and I crash because I try my hardest and exceed my talent. The injuries will catch up with me and that’s why I’ve decided to stop. Yamaha put a test rider proposal to me and it was the perfect way for me to step away from full-time racing but still do something I love.”