Cal Crutchlow: “If Marc Marquez is on a Ducati, everyone else wouldn’t compete”
Whispers in the Japanese M🌳otoGP padd🅺ock this weekend continue to suggest that the eight-time world champion will quit Honda to join Gresini Ducati next year, although he has refused to confirm his plans.
Crutchlow,🔥 a Honda MotoGP rider for six years alongside Marqu⛎ez, insists that the potential move would rock the sport.
"I have no idea what I would do in Marc's place,"ꦅ Crutchlow was quote🌳d by .
"But I've always said: If Marc were to switch to💖 a Ducati, everyone else wouldn't even need to compete.
“And that's why I don't want him to dꦆo it. I wish he would make the turnaro꧃und with Honda.
"I basically♎ don't care, I just want to see 🃏a good race on TV.
"I think Marc is still the best rider and the greatest talent I've had the privilege to race wi𓃲th.
“I was riding a Honda at the same time. I knew what he was doing and I understood it. But I couldn't put it into practice.&nb𓃲sp;
“His talent was inc�ﷺ�redible and I don't think he lost that talent. I just think his bike is not letting him do what he was used to doing at the moment.
“If the bike would let him, I thin🐼k he would still b🐟e at the top of the world championship.
“So if he goes to Ducati, maybe it woulไd💎 be completely boring.
“The other sto♏ry, on the other hand, would be that he makes a comeback with Honda. I think that could be a better story for ever꧟ybody.
"We𓆉 know that Yamaha and Honda can build the best bikes in the world because 𒉰they have done it for many years.
"Ducati didn't win for 15 years, Aprilia was nowhere, KTM just started to get really strong. But that can change a💟gain.
“In five years'🌠 time t🍷he two Japanese manufacturers may be back at the top in full force and the others in nowhere. That's racing.
"Honda and Yamaha are strong manufacturers. They know how to buil🍃d a bike, they have good engineers.
"The problem is that they have to change the way they work. Because what they have always done doesn't💝 work now. The rules of the game have ch🃏anged, that's the reality.
“We have to be more open - Yamaha knows that and I am convinced Honda knows it too. If they start acting faster and reacꦡting better, and more impartially, and maybe not playing it too safe, I'm confident they will make it."
Crutchlo💫w is competing at the Japanese MotoGP as a wil♍dcard for Yamaha, for whom he is now a test rider.
It is his first appearance since last se💜ason, at Yamaha’🧸s home race.
He was 16th fastest in Friday practice - Honda’s Joan Mir was 12th, Marquez 14th due to a late🀅 crash.
꧑Crutchlow joked about his return: "They should be scared of me. Because the last time I was on track with another rider was in April. In Aragon and here in Motegi I tested alone afterwards.
“So they should be scared of me missꦰing the braking point in turn 1…
"There seems to be a pile-up in the start corner every week now. So I'm going to start five seconds later and then ma🎀ke up eight places in one corner!
"I feel okay. Of course the references will be a bit different, but💞 I'm not a rookie either. I'm looking forward to seeing some other bikes on the track and not just some marshal sitting at the track while still messaging his wife on his smartphone."
James was a sports journalist at Sky Sports for a decade 🤡covering everything from American sports, to football, to F1.
