Ehh, to be honest I would have had him stay longer on the Yamaha as a test rider, but Crashlow will probably get that privilege for the foreseeable future because they won their first title since JLO's last year
Yamaha is praying that Quartararo can qualify like he did last year, or it'll be a long season for everyone there. Not much Crutchlow can do about that, as apparently adding power to the bike completely upsets the handling and makes it much slower.
He has put on some serious weight since he retired, it goes to show just how much these little guys starve themselves and watch their calories when in racing trim. It's crazy because when he and Dovi has some serious biceps and forearms definition when they rode for Ducati.
They're all like pro cyclists now, especially any rider that's taller than 1.7m, obsessed with losing those last few grams. BT Sport recently did a retirement profile on Rossi, and when Suzy Perry asked him about his diet, his expression was hilarious, saying it was easy when he started but got very hard as he aged, especially being relatively tall.
Well, with Acosta now in Moto2 it may be worth a watch.
It'll be interesting, and the test times suggest he's going to make the switch just fine. Still, I've seen a few dominant little bike riders struggle with the transition to the heavier machines...
Also, Livio is at the helm for Suzuki this season; I'm not sure he will be the 'new' Davide, but Suzuki needs to try something to be in title contention.
He's got pedigree, that's for sure. Interesting that he's chosen Suzuki for a return to the paddock.
Brivio gets too much credit, I think, for a championship that was as much about inconsistency across the grid as making the best bike. Mir deserves more credit, I think, especially as he had a mostly similar year last year and only got beat by a newly consistent Quartararo and a late push by Bagnaia.
Reading this, I wonder if we've reached the end-of-line potential of the i4 engine. Sounds like Yamaha and Suzuki cannot keep up with the v4 especially with all the aero bits evolving, putting more pressure for more engine power.
It's telling that Honda have followed Ducati. While they V4'd before Ducati, they hadn't quite fully committed to the dragster approach in the same way, and as this bike is a near total reset for them, it's clear where they think the wins are...
Either Dorna cracks down on the aero (which they may do, as speeds are getting dangerous again, threatening classic tracks like Mugello on the calendar), or Yamaha and Suzuki are going to have to find a way to make 300 hp engines.
