Crutchlow secures one-year contract extension with Honda

Cal Crutchlow has started his home MotoGP round at Silverstone on a bright note with a one-year contract extension with Honda which will see him with the Japanese manufacturer until at least the end of 2020.

After securing a fresh two-year deal last season to become a factory Honda rider, covering him for 2018 and 2019, Crutchlow has agreed to a one-year extension directly with HRC and the LCR Honda team.

Crutchlow, who joined LCR Honda from Ducati in 2015, will remain in the LCR squad with Marc Marquez joined by Jorge Lorenzo at Repsol Honda from next season.

The British rider, who is currently eighth in the MotoGP riders’ championship, claimed a stunning victory in Argentina earlier this year and is naturally thrilled with the new deal.

“I am very pleased to renew and extend my relationship with Honda HRC and the LCR Honda Team again in 2020,” Crutchlow said. “We have all worked very hard and we have had great successes and will continue too, I’m sure.

“As I said in the past I have the best support I could ask for from Honda and Lucio and his Team do an excellent job to give me a competitive bike every weekend.”

HRC President Yoshishige Nomura says Crutchlow is fully deserving of his ‘status of factory rider’ given his results and helping develop the RC213V and feels his new contract reflects that.

“We are happy to announce Cal’s contract extension. Last year we contracted with him for 2018 and 2019 as an HRC factory rider,” Nomura said. “This year he has again shown his strong talent and his performance deserves the status of factory rider.

“There is no better way to show him that than by making a new agreement with him, so we have decided to extend our contract. We’ve got to know Cal very well since he arrived at Honda in 2015. By hard work and by getting many good results he has contributed a lot to Honda and the LCR Honda MotoGP Team and he always gives us very useful feedback for the evolution of the RC213V.”

Crutchlow made the move to MotoGP in 2011 with Tech 3 where he spent three seasons before an ill-fated move to Ducati in 2014.

The British rider joined the LCR Honda squad a year later and claimed his maiden win in the championship at the 2016 Czech Republic round before following up the feat later that year at Phillip Island.