MotoGP
Crutchlow: Quartararo doing nothing special to be quick on Yamaha
Yamaha test rider Cal Crutchlow says MotoGP points leader Fabio Quartararo isn't doing anything special on his M1 in 2021 and is simply "making the difference" on the bike.
Lewis Duncan
Edited: Aug 25, 2021, 10:39 AM
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Quartararo has won four races so far in the 2021 season and currently leads the standings by 47 points ahead of this weekend's British Grand Prix at Silverstone.
The next-best Yamaha rider in the standings is seventh-placed Maverick Vinales, who only scored one win and one other podium before his ousting from the team for trying to blow up his bike's engine in the Styrian GP.
Valentino Rossi on the third factory M1 on the grid in 2021 has only scored 28 points and is down in 19th in the standings.
Crutchlow has observed that the Frenchman isn't doing anything radically different on the Yamaha to be as quick as he is, while praising his "stubbornness" when it comes to bike set-up.
"Nothing, settings are quite close," Crutchlow replied when asked if Quartararo is doing anything special on his Yamaha.
"They all prefer something different to what I use at the test team, but what Maverick used at the start of the season when he won was what I used in testing.
"Fabio, he rides a bit different, the taller the guy the less the bike moves, the smaller the guy the more the bike moves.
"So, I prefer the bike a little bit bigger in some areas. So, Fabio he's making the difference because the others have what he has, so do I when I go testing.
"So, he's just riding fantastic, he's riding in a great way, he's great to work with as well.
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"But I also like that… with Maverick I like to work with Maverick because he listens and if you say it's better, he takes it.
"I like Fabio because he doesn't take it, on the other hand, because then he's stuck to his guns and he's doing well with what he's got.
"But in the end I will find some things that they will also use. He feels comfortable with his setting, my setting on my bike is never going to work with Fabio.
"But my electronics or a linkage or a swingarm that I find will, and some stuff has.
"But I like his stubbornness of 'this is what I ride, I don't need to touch the bike', which he very rarely does, and he just rides it and he's doing very, very well.
"But when you're 21 you're not so worried about the setting of the bike, you're just worried about going fast. They just want to be at the top of the leaderboards."
Crutchlow will partner Quartararo at the factory Yamaha squad this weekend at Silverstone in place of the sacked Vinales.
It's unclear yet if Crutchlow – who retired at the end of 2020 – will complete the 2021 campaign with Yamaha.
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