English
Italiano
As predicted and expected, Yamaha deployed Cal Crutchlow in Sepang as chief test rider of the new M1, both for his experience and speed.
Over the course of 2021 Cal returned to racing for two Yamaha teams as a substitute rider at four MotoGP events, and replaced Andrea Dovizioso for the final six events of 2022 following Dovizioso's retirement announced mid-season.
Crutchlow competed in MotoGP from 2011 to 2020 and won three races in both the MotoGP and Superbike World Championships.
The times are still way off the best benchmarks but the track has little rubber and this can be seen by the prudence with which all the riders on the track are tackling the curves. In these first two shots you can see a new swingarm and a tail with a different shape. It should be noted that Crutchlow has not yet been out on the track with the new fairing seen in the Valencia tests, with different front wings and stegosaurus fins on the tail.
After all, in the shakedown, the riders must also verify in the early laps that the newly assembled bikes do not present any problems. So it's likely that in these first few laps Cal is simply checking the assembly and other details.
We haven't yet ventured out into the pitlane because we know that the Iwata-based manufacturer has equipped its garage with a new Italian-French manufactured Samp-T anti-journalist defence system (not surprisingly given the nationality of the top rider). Soon, however, we will attempt a sortie to get more detailed images.
In fact, we know that if the Dean manages to lengthen his pace, Maio Meregalli doesn't have enough speed to reach him, suffering from the same problems as the in-line four-cylinder. Seriously, we'll see what we can do in the next few days.
