MotoGP: Ducati And Yamaha Make It Official
Cycle News Staff | August 2, 2013
PHOTOGRAPHY BY GOLD & GOOSE
Ducati made official today the news that broke yesterday that it has reached an agreement with Cal Crutchlow that will have the Brit racing a Ducati in the 2014/2015 MotoGP World Championships.
The release from Ducati didn’t have any quotes from Crutchlow and the Brit has been uncharacteristically quiet on his Twitter feed as he spends the summer break training in Carlsbad, California.
“The end of the 2013 season will also mark the completion of Nicky Hayden’s five-year professional relationship with the Ducati Team,” the release stated in regard to its firing of Hayden. “Ducati would like to thank Nicky for his contributions during that time, and everyone on the team and at Ducati Corse looks forward to giving him and Andrea [Dovizioso] their full support over the second half of the 2013 season.”
In a related press release, Yamaha also made it official that it has signed Spaniard Pol Espargaro to replace Crutchlow on the Monster Tech 3 team for next year. The Espargaro release came directly from Yamaha and doesn’t reveal what team they plan on placing the current Moto2 rider in 2015. With Yamaha signing Espargaro earlier this season for the next two years, it’s obvious they believe the 22-year-old is the rider they are hoping will compete with Honda’s Marc Marquez in years to come.
Espargaro is in his third season in the Moto2 class and he is currently a distant second behind Brit Scott Redding with three wins and five podium finishes.
