'Some factory riders on performance contracts...'
Riders at the six factory MotoGP teams have all signed two-year contracts, which last until the end of 2018.
But Cal Crutchlow - whose own LCR contract expires this season - revealed some of those factory deals have performance clauses in place.
If a performance clause is not met, it means a team could terminate the contract early and sign another rider for 2018...
"At the moment, I haven't signed a contract," said Crutchlow of 2018. "People think I will stay in LCR, but there are a lot of riders that are not doing very good jobs at the moment, that are on performance-clause contracts with the teams.
"I already know what I've been offered and what could happen to some riders..."
Some or all of the riders you are talking about are in factory teams?
"All factory teams," Crutchlow replied. "Why would I look to anything else? I already basically have a factory bike at a satellite team."
The Englishman, understood to be pushing for a HRC contract to remain at LCR, refused to be drawn on when he might decide his future.
"I'm in no real rush, as I've said in interviews if I wake up tomorrow and don't want to race, I won't race. But at the moment I feel fantastic, I feel like I'm riding very well. The team are doing a good job and Honda are supporting me fully.
"Of course I've heard the rumour about Nakagami [joining LCR as his team-mate next year] but it's got nothing to do with me!
"Maybe there will be something decided soon, but it also depends on how some of these other riders go [with performance clauses]. Because, as I've always said, if you put Marc on some of these other bikes, they would have a big reality shock about how fast that bike can go."
One obvious deadline for meeting a performance-clause would be the halfway point of the season, which is the German Grand Prix on July 2.
Crutchlow - who won two races last year - qualified third for Sunday's Spanish MotoGP, behind only the factory Repsol Hondas of Marc Marquez and Dani Pedrosa.
The former WSS champion and WorldSBK winner is also testing and developing some new parts for Honda this weekend. Although Crutchlow refused to be specific, the exhaust is a visible difference and he is also thought to have worked on electronic upgrades at the Le Mans test this week.
As with the frame last season, Crutchlow doesn't feel the parts provide an immediate performance gain. However, with work, he feels they could be an advantage in the long run.
