CAL CRUTCHLOW has said Valentino Rossi's input into the settings of his Yamaha YZF-R1 WSB racer played a pivotal part in the Brit's double victory at Silverstone's round of this year's World Superbike series.
Last month, Rossi used the World Superbike Yamaha to make his return to motorcycle racing in a 46-lap test at Misano circuit, Italy, following the Italian's leg-breaking accident at Mugello.
Cructhlow confirmed Rossi had given the team valuable information on the bike's engine settings but kept out of the chassis side of things:
“Not chassis settings, because he likes things different," said Crutchlow. "But he told us some things about electronic settings that improved the throttle connection and engine pick-up. I used the settings at Silverstone, and they were really good."
As reported last month, Rossi has said he would like to put in an occasional appearance in WSB but does not want to switch full-time to production bike racing:
“To ride the Superbike ... I like it a lot. I would like to do a race on Superbike, but only one in a season. Maybe in the future I have that possibility.
“But when you go to MotoGP, it is another level.
“For me, it is like the difference between a Ferrari F1 and when I tried a Mercedes DTM (German Touring Car championship). That is the difference.”
