The Austrian 2020 MotoGP grand prix according to Brembo

8/11/2020

A guide to Brembo braking systems in the premier class, and their use on the Red Bull Ring

According to Brembo technicians who work closely with all the MotoGP World Championship riders, the Red Bull Ring is one of the most highly demanding circuits for brakes. On a scale of 1 to 5, it earned a 5 on the difficulty index - equaled only by the Barcelona track.

As for the Formula 1 race, the MotoGP braking systems are used on 7 of the 10 bends of the Austrian circuit. The time the brakes are used for is another thing entirely though, as is the strain on the braking system: for a single-seater, the Spielberg track has a difficulty index rating of 3.

The variations of the Brembo thumb pump 

More than one third of the MotoGP riders regularly use the thumb pump. Brembo provides two main types: the standard configuration involves connecting the thumb pump and pedal with the rear brake, in combination with a 2-piston rear caliper, in a single circuit.

This was the one that Brembo came up with in the 1990s, but it didn't offer the possibility to activate the rear brake with the thumb pump and the pedal at the same time; only one of the two could be used. The version with two separate circuits, on the other hand, allows the rider to use both of them simultaneously thanks to the rear 4-piston Brembo caliper: each circuit, in fact, acts on just two of the four pistons.

Brake use during the Austrian MotoGP grand prix

The riders use their brakes 7 times on every lap of the Red Bull Ring, for a total of 27 seconds; that's 17 seconds more than for the Formula 1 race. The comparison is very different in percentage terms too: 32% for the bikes, 16% for the single-seaters.

Over the 28 race laps at Spielberg, each MotoGP bike uses its brakes for more than 750 seconds, which means just over 12 and a half minutes. A big chunk of this comes on bends 1, 3 and 4 - all with a deceleration of 1.5 g and speed deltas higher than 200 km/h (124 mph).

The most demanding braking section during the Austrian race 

Of the 7 Red Bull Ring braking points, 3 are classified as hard on the brakes, whereas the other 4 are of medium difficulty. For Formula 1 on the other hand, those same 4 are considered light.

The most taxing throttle-off point for MotoGP is on the fourth bend, even though the bikes don't get up to 300 km/h (186 mph): in the 5.4 second braking section, they travel 259 meters (850 feet) at a speed that drops from 297 km/h (185 mph) to 83 km/h (52 mph). The load on the lever is 6.4 kg (14.1 lbs), and the system pressure is 13.8 bar.