Marco Bezzecchi
Cal Crutchlow will make his MotoGP comeback for LCR at this weekend’s Italian Grand Prix, it has been confirmed.
It emerged on Thursday that Crutchlow was testing for LCR after regular rider Johann Zarco suffered significant knee and ankle injuries in a crash at the Catalan GP.
Crutchlow made his last MotoGP appearance at the 2023 Japanese GP, scoring points as a wildcard for Yamaha.
Is Cal Crutchlow Honda’s best option to replace Johann Zarco?
Cal Crutchlow back on an LCR MotoGP bike six years later
Crutchlow competed in MotoGP full-time from 2011 until the end of 2020. He won three races and scored 19 podiums, peaking with a fifth-place finish in the 2013 championship.
After retirement, he moved into a test rider role at Yamaha, which saw him deputise for an injured Franco Morbidelli and take over from Andrea Dovizioso after the Italian’s early retirement.
Planned wildcard appearances during the 2024 season had to be cancelled due to injury, and while Crutchlow returned to action in an April 2025 test, it looked as if his MotoGP days were over for good. Indeed, Yamaha confirmed that he was no longer part of their test team last September.
- READ MORE: Johann Zarco reveals why he should have pulled out of Catalan GP moments before ‘terrifying’ crash
But now, at the age of 40, he returns for his 180th premier-class start. Crutchlow spent the last six seasons of his career on an LCR Honda, so he’s back in familiar surroundings.
Zarco’s injury is likely to be long-term – the Frenchman is yet to have surgery and the exact timeline hasn’t been publicised – so it remains to be seen whether this is a one-off or a recurring arrangement.
In theory, with Aleix Espargaro injured, Takaaki Nakagami is the obvious replacement, but the Japanese rider prefers to focus on developing Honda’s 2027 850cc package.
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