Cal Crutchlow, English motorcycle racer
Cal Crutchlow (born 29 October 1985) is an English semi-retired Grand Prix motorcycle racer who competed in the MotoGP class from 2011 to 2020 and retired from regular competition after the 2020 season. He is a 3-time race winner in both MotoGP and the Superbike World Championship. Crutchlow is contracted as a test rider for Yamaha Motor Racing, which he is expected to continue in 2022. During 2021 he returned to race for two Yamaha teams as a replacement rider in four MotoGP races.
In 2011, Crutchlow joined the MotoGP World Championship with Monster Yamaha Tech 3. After finishing his rookie season in 2011 without a podium finish, Crutchlow managed to achieve two podium finishes and finished 7th in the overall standings in 2012. In 2013, Crutchlow managed four podium finishes, a points tally of 188 and finished 5th in the overall standings as the top satellite (non-factory) rider. This earned him a move to the factory Ducati team in 2014 finishing 13th in the championship with a podium finish in Aragon. After one season with Ducati, Crutchlow moved to LCR Honda in 2015. He won the 2016 Czech Republic motorcycle Grand Prix becoming the first Briton since Barry Sheene in 1981 to win a premier class race, which he followed up with another win in Australia. After one podium in 2017, Crutchlow achieved his 3rd premier class win in Argentina in 2018. Another three podiums followed in 2019 and after the 2020 season without a top five finish, Crutchlow was replaced by Álex Márquez for 2021. Crutchlow is the only LCR Honda rider to date to win a MotoGP race and finished on the podium in MotoGP for eight consecutive seasons from 2012 to 2019.
Crutchlow was the 2006 British Supersport Championship champion and the 2009 Supersport World Championship champion with Yamaha. He also won races in the British Superbike Championship finishing 3rd in 2008 and in the Superbike World Championship finishing 5th in 2010.
In early 2017, the RAC awarded Crutchlow the Torrens Trophy, an accolade made in recognition of "outstanding contribution to motorcycling in the United Kingdom".