Espargaro to Yamaha?

Cal Crutchlow has revealed that Yamaha are in talks with Moto2 star Pol Espargaro about becoming a Yamaha rider in 2014.

Crutchlow first became aware of the Espargaro intrest when speaking to team manger Herve Poncharal.

“He told me that Yamaha are potentially going to sign Pol and [Tech 3] will have to take him for the first year,” Crutchlow told BBC Sport.

“The rumour is that he’s going to be getting a factory bike and doing a two-year deal with the Yamaha factory.”

If these rumours are true, it would mean Crutchlow would loose his Tech3 ride with team mate Bradley Smith signed up to a two year contract.

There are also rumours that Espargaro has signed a letter of intent with Yamaha Motor Racing, much like Jorge Lorenzo did back in 2006.

Espargaro, with is younger brother of CRT leader Aleix, is seen to be Yamaha’s primary target to combat the Marquez-Honda combination in the next generation of MotoGP.

There are also some rumours that Espargaro may be given a Yamaha M1 engine, and form his own private team, keeping Espargaro on side, and any chance of keeping Crutchlow.

Dorna rules however state that no manufacturer can have more than four prototype machines, so there isn’t a chance of just adding a third Tech3 bike.

However with only Nicky Hayden, Ben Spies and Andrea Iannone on one year deals, there isn’t a whole host of prototype bikes for the Brit to choose from. So where does that leave Crutchlow?

Crutchlow had been hoping for a factory ride for next season, but with Hayden’s Factory Ducati Desmosedici the only seat being possibly becoming available the Coventry born rider may be struggling.

Suzuki’s potential return to MotoGP may be a life line for Cal, however there is still little information about the development of the bike, and we should know more in just over a month when Suzuki return to MotoGP, testing at Barcelona.