Ducati have given Britain’s Cal Crutchlow until next month to make a decision whether he will remain with the Bologna MotoGP factory next season or exercise a clause in his contract which will allow him to go elsewhere.
In a candid interview with Bikesport News columnist and motomatters.com editor David Emmett, Ducati Corse chief Paolo Ciabatti says he wants Crutchlow to remain in the team but it is up to the former World Supersport Champion if he stays.
“We have been able to run three factory riders this year, so we might be able to do the same thing for next year. So, the answer is, we like the three riders we have this year, for different reasons we would like to continue with them. We'll need to see if and how the Cal situation will evolve, because it will be really up to him,” said Ciabatti.
“As most people in the paddock know, we have a two-year contract with Cal, but he has a way out of the contract. Having said so, we invested in Cal because we wanted very strongly to have him with Ducati, and the fact that so far things have not worked in the way we all hoped is due, honestly I don't believe in luck or bad luck, but in his case, we must admit some of the things have been particularly going wrong on the technical side with no explanation.
“Because he has exactly the same treatment as Andrea Dovizioso and Andrea Iannone, and his team has actually been working together since a long time. Dovi's team was put together last year, after Valentino [Rossi] left, but Cal's team is Nicky's [Hayden] former team, and has been together for a long time. Daniele Romagnoli joined instead of Juan Martinez, but it is a very good team. So it's difficult for us to really understand why these things have happened.
“But having said so, obviously he's not performing to the level we expected, he is not performing to the level which he expected, but we will keep supporting him 100%. Then it's up to him to decide what he wants to do. I can only tell you that it is in July, not exactly when. But I think we will find a good solution to have those riders with us, unless Cal decides to go somewhere else.”
Click here to read the full interview
