Rain or shine at Silverstone, MotoGP relies on carbon fiber

8/2/2022

Brake use in the British GP and Brembo's supply of Custom braking systems

After the long summer break, MotoGP will be starting up again in Great Britain even if the track is not the one with the highest latitude in the championship: the TT Circuit Assen is 0° 54‘ further north than Silverstone Circuit. According to the Brembo technicians who work closely with all the MotoGP World Championship riders, Silverstone is a moderately demanding circuits for brakes.

On a scale of 1 to 5, it is rated 3 on the difficulty index. Even when it rains, the MotoGP riders should use carbon fiber discs, which are much more high performing and consistent from the start to the finish than the steel ones used when there was heavy rain up until a few years ago.

From MotoGP to King of the Baggers

This year, Brembo will once again supply custom braking systems to all 24 MotoGP riders. The supply also extends to the Moto2 and Moto3 teams. One hundred percent of the riders in the two categories use Brembo calipers, ninety percent use the master cylinders, eighty percent use the pads, and fifty percent use the steel discs.

As of this year, Brembo also supplies their systems to the bikes that race in the MotoAmerica King of the Baggers category. In order to improve braking and ensure consistent performance throughout the entire race, these cruisers equipped with saddlebags, enormous windshields, and a minimum weight of 281 kg (620 lbs) use GP4-RR calipers, PISTABASSA discs, Z04 pads, and RMC BilletGP master cylinders.

Record-breaking Brembo discs for roadbikes 

Harley-Davidson or Indian owners, or even owners of baggers made by other manufacturers who don’t use them on the track have different needs. For all of them, a range of Upgrade products called “Custom” is available which revolves around the RCS master cylinder, also in the RCS Corsa Corta version, both equipped with the Brembo patented lever adjustment system.

To improve braking comfort and performance, in addition to reinforcing the character of the bike, the factory calipers can be replaced with .484 calipers in billet racing aluminum. The brake discs can contribute to the overall look of the bike, starting with the Black 11” which, having a housing in different material, are also not as vulnerable to thermal mechanical stress.

Find out more about the Brembo Upgrade range.

38 seconds per lap 

At Silverstone Circuit the MotoGP riders use their brakes 10 times each lap for a total 38 seconds just slightly less than the 40 seconds of the Losail International Circuit. However, the layouts of the two tracks are very different, as are the climatic conditions. On 5 of the corners on the British track, the riders have to brake to reduce their speed to below 100 km/h (62 mph) to avoid coming off the tarmac.

Even if it is not the hardest corner, corner 16 is significant since the MotoGPs reduce their speed by 205 km/h (127 mph) after braking for 5.7 seconds. 1.5 G of deceleration are also experienced by the riders on corners 1 and 11. If you sum up all of the force applied by a rider on the Brembo brake lever from the starting line to the checkered flag, it comes to over 0.85 metric tons.

From 330 km/h (205 mph) to 120 km/h (74.5 mph) in 5.4 seconds 

Of the 10 braking sections at the Silverstone Circuit, 2 are classified as very demanding on the brakes, 5 are of medium difficulty, and the remaining 3 are light.

Due to the higher top speed, the Stowe (corner 7) is the most challenging: the MotoGP bikes go from 330 km/h (205 mph) to 120 km/h (74.5 mph) in 5.4 seconds covering 292 meters (958 feet), thanks to a 6.4 kg (14 lb) load on the lever and 1.5 g deceleration. Brembo HTC 64T brake fluid pressure hits 13.6 bar.

And what about the video games?

Taking on corner 7 correctly on the Silverstone Circuit in the MotoGP video game is not like drinking a cup of tea, at least the first few times, but it can get easier. Once you have passed the bridge, go onto the left-hand side of the track and start to brake when the paint on the left-hand wall changes from red to white. Once the speed has dropped to 200 km/h (124.2 mph), lean into the corner and continue to brake moving down into 2nd gear. Take your time and do not reapply the throttle too early.