Apparently, not. The Internet is currently blowing a gasket over the reported brakes situation at Tech Three MotoGP, and one fan has started an on-line collection fund to buy brakes for Tech Three Yamaha rider Cal Crutchlow.

The situation as we know it is this:

While still a Repsol Honda MotoGP rider in 2011, Andrea Dovizioso used a then newly introduced Brembo brake caliper which afforded better feel than the previous generation Brembo brake caliper.

Shagged from the Honda team, Dovi’ signed with Tech Three Yamaha.

The 2012 factory Yamaha M1 MotoGP bikes feature the new caliper. The satellite Yamaha M1s, which Dovi’ uses, do not. They use the older Brembo caliper.

Having knowledge of the Brembo caliper and liking its feel, Dovi’ inquired about obtaining the new Brembo calipers for his M1. Reportedly, he was told by Tech Three something to the effect of that “it’s not in the budget” and he’d have to use the old calipers.

That the new Brembo calipers are the be-all and end-all is now an accepted fact, but whether this is really true is a matter of conjecture. Rider feel is a difficult concept to understand. It’s known that for a time last season the hot set up for some MotoGP riders was the old caliper and the smaller Brembo rotors. In some corners this may still be the case.

However, ex-125 world champion Andrea Dovizioso wanted the new calipers on his Yamaha and reportedly purchased a few sets on his own and had them fitted to his M1s. Brembo also have a larger rotor for 2012 (supposedly this is the one that failed on Nicky Hayden’s Ducati) but we’ve yet to see Dovi’s Yamaha wearing them. If Le Mans had been dry, he might have needed them, but since it was wet Crutchlow raced on good old-fashioned steel brakes and applicable rotors.

Back to the new Brembo calipers. It didn’t take long for Cal Crutchlow and the British media to seize upon the inequality of the situation-that Dovi’ had the new calipers and Cal did not–with vigor. Crutchlow told the Brit media that this development was ‘bad show’ and he wasn’t about, as a MotoGP rider of some note, to buy his own parts.

Crutchlow’s fans wondered how they could help Cal in his hour of need. Several voiced that they’d donate money to a virtual collection plate in order to buy Cal his brakes, and an online fund was set up to collect money from Crutchlow’s fans and other interested parties to buy him a new set of brakes. The target of the fund is to raise $75,000 for Cal’s brakes.