With Yamaha still just over two weeks away from returning to the track, it has announced via social media the line-up with which it will contest the British GP. Alongside Fabio Quartararo there will be the returning Alex Rins, back from an injury after a highside suffered at the start at Assen, while Remy Gardner, who replaced him at Sachsenring, will again be present, but in place of Cal Crutchlow, on paper entered in the event as a wild card.
“Unfortunately, I am unable to attend my wild card appearance at the Monster Energy British GP at Silverstone this year," were the words of the British rider in the official press release. "I had surgery on my hand two months ago, and the recovery has not gone as expected at all, leading to a further surgery and complications. It is important to let my hand heal fully before trying to ride the MotoGP bike."
"I look forward to coming back and riding with my test team as soon as I can and continue our project to improve the current and next year’s package," Cal continued. “This year we have seen some improvement already thanks to endless work from everyone at Yamaha and the team. Finally, I would like to wish Remy good luck and to have fun. He has experience on the MotoGP bike and got a good taste of the Yamaha in Germany at the last race, so it is the perfect situation for him to ride the bike again.”
After giving the customary best wishes for a speedy recovery to his colleague whose place he will take in the UK, Gardner instead said: “Obviously, it’s a nice opportunity to get to ride the M1 again, so I’m really happy. Silverstone is a track I like, and hopefully I can give some more important feedback to Yamaha and the team and continue to enjoy the moment.”