Cal Crutchlow says his performances thus far warrant a factory berth in 2014. Image: MotoGP.com.

Monster Tech3 Yamaha man Cal Crutchlow says his career is on the up and maintains his steadfast belief that his current results warrant a move to a factory MotoGP berth next season.

The Briton told BBC Sport he is in talks with Ducati, Yamaha and Honda about his 2014 prospects and expected a deal to be firmed up soon.

“At the moment, my career seems to be on the up and I’m getting closer to the guys at the front and starting to challenge for wins,” said Crutchlow.

“I don’t want to take a step back, so the next thing is to be in a factory team, but it has to be the one with the right machinery.

“Whether I’ll be with Ducati, Yamaha or Honda is yet to be decided. We’re in negotiations with them all and hopefully in the next couple of weeks we will know what we’re doing.”

Crutchlow has beaten favoured factory bikes on a number of occasions in 2013 and says he does not mind riding with the ‘underdog’ tag.

“I don’t think I have anything to prove to anybody in MotoGP in terms of my speed but I do like to ride when my back’s against the wall now and again,” he continued.

“We shouldn’t be out-qualifying the factory bikes and challenging the factory Hondas to be honest, so I quite like being the underdog.”

Crutchlow has been vocal on the subject of leading Moto2 riders moving into MotoGP next year, and says he would welcome the new talent but does not believe they deserve consideration over him.

“Should they (Pol Espargaro and Scott Redding) get in at my expense when I’ve had two podiums and am challenging the factory guys”? he pondered. “I don’t think so. But I believe they should be in MotoGP.”

Crutchlow sits fourth on the points table, 22 points behind Honda’s Marc Marquez and 11 points clear of Yamaha’s Valentino Rossi.

Click here to read Crutchlow’s full column entry with BBC Sport