CAL CRUTCHLOW SAYS DIOGO MOREIRA SHOULD GET HRC FACTORY SEAT BEFORE DAVID ALONSO

Cal Crutchlow believes Diogo Moreira’s performances in his rookie MotoGP season make a factory Honda Racing Corporation (HRC) opportunity for 2027 feel like the obvious next step. Speaking on the MotoGP World Feed at Aragon, the former MotoGP rider—who spent six rounds as Moreira’s team-mate—argued that the 2027 decision should come down to who has earned it most convincingly, and in his view that is Moreira.

Crutchlow acknowledged that both Moreira and Moto2 race winner David Alonso are tied to Honda contracts for next season, but stressed that HRC has yet to confirm who will partner Fabio Quartararo and who will join Johann Zarco at LCR. In that context, he said Moreira should be prioritised.

“[Moreira] deserves to be there before David Alonso, in my opinion,” Crutchlow said. He pointed to Moreira’s first year as proof that the rider has adapted quickly, adding that he is “regularly beating the other Honda riders, or there or thereabouts,” despite being a rookie.

Crutchlow framed the choice as straightforward, calling it “an absolute no-brainer.” He also offered a second perspective: if Alonso ends up at LCR, he described that as “also a perfect scenario,” noting that it would mirror the path Moreira took to grow up into MotoGP.

From Crutchlow’s standpoint, the bikes themselves are not the defining factor. “The bikes are no different,” he said, while explaining that the real difference is the pressure and the label of the team. “It’s just to say you’re riding for a factory team, or you’re riding for a satellite team,” he said, before adding that in MotoGP “basically every team is a factory team.”

Crutchlow’s case for Moreira was built around more than raw speed. He said the rider combines talent with what he called “a good head,” and he urged HRC to give him time to develop at the top level. “Everybody knows good talent when you see it. But there’s a difference between talent and a good head, and he’s got both,” Crutchlow said. “I like him. He’s a great kid. Give him three years and he’ll be, in my opinion, able to be MotoGP World Champion.”

He also highlighted how Moreira has managed races and how he approaches the bike. Crutchlow said Moreira’s racecraft includes fighting without fear, and that he doesn’t complain—suggesting a mature understanding of what is happening on track. “The way he manages races, the way he fights, he’s not scared. I like that about him. He never complains – I mean he knows if it’s him, if it’s the bike. He’s very intelligent,” Crutchlow said.

Crutchlow further explained that Moreira’s progress has come alongside the bike’s own development, rather than arriving on a machine that is already winning every week. “For a first-year rookie to be doing what he’s doing, on a bike that’s still progressing as well - it’s not as if he’s jumped on a Ducati or Aprilia that’s winning races every week. And he’s doing superb,” he said.

On the technical side, Crutchlow revealed that Moreira trains with Marc Márquez and has adopted a braking approach similar to the nine-time champion’s. He said that early in the season he believed Moreira didn’t fully understand tyre management, but that the rider has since improved significantly. “Now he’s getting there, and he understands that a lot more. So you’ll see his race paces are a lot more consistent. He stopped being this passenger on the bike, and he’s controlling the bike a lot more,” Crutchlow said.

Regarding braking, Crutchlow was more guarded. “Braking, there’s no doubt about it, he’s strong,” he said, adding that the specific method is “a little bit of a trick” and he didn’t want to reveal it. Still, he confirmed the influence: “But he does very much like Marc Márquez did. I tried to do it, and that was every time that I fell on my head for all those years!”

Crutchlow also referenced Moreira’s recent results at Aragon, where he finished as the top Honda rider in both races—seventh in the Sprint and ninth in the Grand Prix—reinforcing his point that the rookie is already delivering strong performances on a Honda.