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Fast MotoGP News: Bradl still with LCR, Yamaha Seamless Gearbox Tested, Honda's still Better

Here's some gatling-paced MotoGP news: Honda's satellite team LCR has confirmed having the German rider Stefan Bradl aboard their machine for the next season, while Yamaha has been extensively testing their all-new seamless gearbox at the private test in Brno, the Czech Republic. First, zie Germans...
Stefan Bradl confirmed with LCR for 2014 1 photo
Photo: MotoGP.com
Good news for both Stefan Brad and Honda's Lucio Checchinello, probably one of the German's strongest supporters, as the young rider was confirmed for one more year aboard the factory-supported LCR satellite machine.

Currently sixth in the world standings with 84 points, though a long way down from Cal Crutchlow, Bradl has no more reasons to fear for his LCR seat: paddock rumors were seeing Crutchlow as a possible top rider with LCR, but as the Brit went for a Ducati factory seat, things settled finely for the German and his team.

And now, Japanese tech-time: Yamaha had a private test at Brno, with no invitations extended to the media, so it was down to the spectators to do some spy-work. And spy they did...

It looks like Yamaha's all-new seamless gearbox is really shifting faster than the actual one, and by faster we mean a hefty 143% improvement. With no official data, it was down to the audio analysis of fan-made recordings to shed some light on the matter. For a more detailed story full of numbers, please check MotoMatters' article.

Still, even though it looks like Yamaha's jump from 0.038s shifts to 0.016s ones is yet far from the amazing 9 milliseconds Honda prototypes need to shift gears. Rossi had a run-off associated with some strange noises, and this means there is still a lot of work until the seamless transmissions work as Yamaha's Lin Jarvis wants them to.
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