Photo: motogp.com
Half-season and the summer break drawing near, the MotoGP rumor mill starts spinning. One of the latest paddock whispers is that Cal Crutchlow’s departure from Ducati is anything but official, and interest in his factory seat is growing. Pramac Ducati’s Andrea Iannone was not secretive as to his dreams of riding a factory Ducati, and given the present rumored situation, it may be that his chances for 2015 are getting bigger.
Iannone had a good rookie year in 2013, finishing in the 12 position, despite the well-known problems the Ducati machinery was confronted with in the past. This year he sits 9th in the world standing and shows solid signs of improving his overall performance, especially as Ducati seems to slowly build a more competitive machine. In case Cal Crutchlow is indeed planning to pull out prematurely from his two-year deal with Ducati, Iannone might be the next in line to claim his seat and become Andrea Dovizioso’s team mate, for another all-Italian, but this time all-Andrea team.
Nicknamed Crazy Joe, Iannone has also been talking to Suzuki for a potential factory ride in 20154, as the house of Hamamatsu plans to make the best comeback possible next year. Still Suzuki has a lot of riders to choose from, Aleix Espargaro, Crutchlow, Iannone, De Puniet, ad even Dani Pedrosa, to name just a few, so making a decision for two of them will be both hard and a thing really interesting to analyze.
Francesco Guidotti, the Pramac Ducati boss knows that if Cal leaves the Ducati factory team, retaining the services of Iannone will be a very hard task, if not a completely impossible one. Pramac is already looking for a replacement for Iannone, and the Moto2 championship seems like the bets pool for this. Vinales and Salom could be neat choices, Guidotti says, but they are still too young and inexperienced to take such an important step to MotoGP. They need to spend at least an extra year in Moto2 and gain more experience before their level can be comparable to what riding a premier class machine requires.
However, it looks like Tito Rabat has already been approached by Pramac, as his superior racing experience may be a deciding factor for his shot at MotoGP glory. Esteve "Tito" Rabat is currently leading the Moto2 championship, with 4 wins, 1 second and one thrid placements. Guidotti admits having discussed briefly the matter with his manager, even though no further details have been offered. So it looks like Cal’s decision will trigger a much larger chain of events and changes in the 2015 grid, hopefully for the best for everyone involved.
Nicknamed Crazy Joe, Iannone has also been talking to Suzuki for a potential factory ride in 20154, as the house of Hamamatsu plans to make the best comeback possible next year. Still Suzuki has a lot of riders to choose from, Aleix Espargaro, Crutchlow, Iannone, De Puniet, ad even Dani Pedrosa, to name just a few, so making a decision for two of them will be both hard and a thing really interesting to analyze.
Francesco Guidotti, the Pramac Ducati boss knows that if Cal leaves the Ducati factory team, retaining the services of Iannone will be a very hard task, if not a completely impossible one. Pramac is already looking for a replacement for Iannone, and the Moto2 championship seems like the bets pool for this. Vinales and Salom could be neat choices, Guidotti says, but they are still too young and inexperienced to take such an important step to MotoGP. They need to spend at least an extra year in Moto2 and gain more experience before their level can be comparable to what riding a premier class machine requires.
However, it looks like Tito Rabat has already been approached by Pramac, as his superior racing experience may be a deciding factor for his shot at MotoGP glory. Esteve "Tito" Rabat is currently leading the Moto2 championship, with 4 wins, 1 second and one thrid placements. Guidotti admits having discussed briefly the matter with his manager, even though no further details have been offered. So it looks like Cal’s decision will trigger a much larger chain of events and changes in the 2015 grid, hopefully for the best for everyone involved.
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