If Valentino Rossi decides to skip the last two races of the season to undergo the much needed surgery on his shoulder, newly signed Yamaha Tech3 rider Cal Crutchlow could be called in for the Estoril and Valencia races.
Crutchlow opted for a private testing session on the Yamaha M1 in Japan instead of taking part at the final round at Valencia; but Yamaha believes that Rossi will miss the last two races has put the British rider on pre-alert and Crutchlow has confirmed that he’ll be ready to ride.
However Crutchlow won’t be riding Rossi’s Yamaha, but theTech3 bike, the honour of riding the official factory bike would fall to Ben Spies, if having now partecipated in 13 races he should no longer runs afoul of the demential rookie rule.