MOTOGP: Burgess - Honda Gearbox 'Not Rocket Science'

Jeremy Burgess has just come off seven years at Yamaha to join Ducati with Valentino Rossi. And together they have won seven championships at Honda and Yamaha.

However, despite Burgess and Rossi's record, and Yamaha's retention of reigning champion Jorge Lorenzo, the popular preseason pick for 2011 seems to be Honda, in large part due to a new gearbox that is speculated to have handed them a significant early advantage.

Burgess doesn't agree with that notion. "All this talk about a seamless shift gearbox will not be the reason Honda win races. I can tell you that you would be a mug to think that the Yamaha M1 gearbox is not something special.

"If anyone thinks Honda now have cutting-edge technology, it might be because they have come from a long way behind.

"Yamaha have a very smooth, advanced system. I know how it works and I've also been privy to the inside of some of the trick F1 gearboxes with the top teams.

"Seamless shifting is not an engineering marvel, it is not rocket science. You might save one hundredth of a second, and that's only on an upshift. For sure it's a nice feeling for the rider to have those shifts but it's not the difference everyone is rabbiting on about."

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Source: http://moto-racing.speedtv.com/article/motogp-burgess-honda-gearbox-not-rocket-science/

Gastone Biscia Kenny Blake Ken Armstrong