The idea had already been mentioned here or there but, in recent days, things seem to be becoming clearer for the German rider: in all likelihood, Stefan Bradl will take on the role of Honda test rider in MotoGP in 2018.
Honda wants to stimulate the development of its MotoGP and has decided to bet on Stefan bradl, a rider who already knows the MotoGP World Championship very well and who, moreover, benefits from the unconditional support of Red Bull…
The maneuvers began with the appointment of Hiroshi Aoyama, officially until now a Honda MotoGP test rider, at the command of the Moto2 and Moto3 team Idemitsu Honda Team Asia, in place of Tadayuki 'Taddy' Okada (see here).
Then, the North American pilot Jake Gagne was made official in place of the German in World Superbike alongside Leon Camier.
At Honda, Stefan bradl is considered faster than Hiroshi Aoyama, which should facilitate the development of the RC213Vs and could avoid the tedious starts to the season that Honda has experienced in recent years.
With Bradl, Honda therefore hopes to resolve this situation and get the most out of the tests, as Ducati did and still does with the competitive Michele Pirro.
Former LCR Honda rider Stefan Bradl would already be present in January during pre-season testing at the Sepang circuit in Malaysia, although he only left MotoGP at the end of 2016, after two seasons spent with Aprilia.
