According to Brembo technicians who work closely with all the MotoGP World Championship riders, the Algarve International Circuit is one of the least demanding circuits for brakes. On a scale of 1 to 5, it earned a 2 on the difficulty index, the lowest in the 2020 championship.
Its continuous ascents and descents make it hard for the riders to calibrate the throttle-off moment, with the risk of arriving too late when coming downhill or braking too soon on upward stretches: the maximum slope on descents is 12% and on ascents 6%, while the cross slope is 8% in certain points.
Brembo carbon in MotoGP, whatever the conditions
Over the last three years, Brembo has done away with a long-standing taboo: since carbon was introduced in the 500 class, it had always been set aside in rainy situations in favor of steel discs. To ensure a good friction coefficient, carbon needs to reach a temperature of at least 250 °C and, until recently, this was somewhat difficult in wet and rainy conditions.
The carbon developments made by Brembo in recent years have allowed the operating temperature range to be widened, however. This, along with the enhanced performance of the engines and tires, has boosted the temperature of the discs even in the rain, meaning that steel has largely fallen by the wayside.
