This is the reason why Yamaha fired Lorenzo and hired Cal Crutchlow
Yamaha’s decision to expel Jorge Lorenzo as their test rider and appoint Cal Crutchlow really raises a myriad of questions. Lin Jarvis as Director Manager understands this and is now trying to provide the reasons behind his decision.
As is well known, Jorge Lorenzo did decide to work as a Yamaha test rider after hanging his helmet at the end of 2019. However, throughout his work in that position, the man from Spain has only participated in two trials.
The first test at Sepang went well, but when he came down to the test at Portimao in early October, Lorenzo performed poorly, worse than the other test riders.
This reason made Yamaha question Lorenzo’s commitment to work as their test rider, especially since the ex-Ducati did very little physical warm-up compared to other manufacturers’ test riders.
“What Jorge did at Sepang was warm-up, and the fact we didn’t try out any new devices with him, even though he did come back fast.”
“But he has not undergone a trial for a long time after that, because there is a precarious health situation (Covid-19),” said Jarvis via Paddock GP.
Furthermore, Lin Jarvis explained why Cal Crutchlow is the perfect solution for this position. According to him, he is still in very prime condition after competing throughout the 2020 season yesterday.
“So our decision is basically because Cal has just retired from full season competition, while Jorge is already a year away from the competition.”
“Cal himself has a ‘sharp’ performance, and is ready to start his job. “He showed passion for this task, so at the moment he is the best option,” continued Jarvis.
Not wanting to repeat the same mistakes as last season with Jorge Lorenzo, Yamaha confirmed that the trial period would be more intensive for their test riders in the upcoming 2021 season.
“We really believe in our option to get Cal. I think Cal is a real hard worker, and very motivated to start this project. We will not make the same mistake twice, and obviously our test program next year will be more intensive.” He concluded.