WHEN 2 MM HELP YOU WIN A 24 HOUR RACE

6/6/2022

Brembo is always going the extra mile through continuous research and development. This applies to both original equipment and competitions

Never completely satisfied and always looking for that extra something even if Brembo brake components are a global benchmark thanks to constant investment in research and development. This is true for OE parts as well as upgrade ones but also for racing, both on the track and off-road.

On asphalt endurance races present the most difficult challenges since it is one thing to be efficient and reliable in races that last just over 30 minutes, such as the World Superbike races, something quite different in the MotoGP GPs which last from 40 to 45 minutes, and even more so in endurance races which last a minimum of 8 hours and can last as long as a whole day.

The last attempt to raise the bar was in this category even if in 2021, the Endurance24 caliper with Z03 pads, T-Drive discs and the GP 19x18 radial master cylinder, all made by Brembo, equipped the Suzuki GSX R-1000 which with Xavier Simeon, Sylvain Guintoli and Gregg Black won the EWC World Championship as well as the two 24 hour races in France.

Once the celebrating was over, the Yoshimura SERT Motul team got back to work to continue to improve its package. Having established the reliability of Brembo components as well as the excellent performance every time you brake and consistent performance even after hours of use, it was looking for something that could increase the number of laps.

The greater the distance covered in an endurance race, the less chance the competing teams will be able to do as well or better and dominate. But to cover a greater distance as everyone who uses a motorbike for traveling knows, you must reduce stops as far as possible, either making less and/or reducing how long they last.

This is where Brembo comes onto the scene with a series of studies to find a solution that reduces pit stop times without compromising on the quality of the motorbike chassis. Brakes are unsprung weight and therefore the smaller they are, the lower the negative effect on braking as well as on acceleration and changes in direction.

On the other hand, though, an undersized brake system would not be able to offer all the braking power that these motorbikes need. Alternatively, it would only guarantee a lower number of braking episodes because the undersized discs and calipers would lead to overheating or the friction material would be completely consumed.

Brembo has emerged from this apparent deadlock with the new GP4-Endurance caliper which made its debut last April at the 45th 24 Hours of Le Mans, the first race in the FIM EWC World Championship season, on the Yoshimura SERT Motul Suzuki on which Black, Simeon and Sylvain Guintoli took it in turns to win one minute, 45 seconds and 582 thousandths of a second ahead of the others.

This result was due to the riders’ talent, the speed and chassis qualities of the GSX-R1000R, but also the skill of the mechanics and even the attributes of the new Brembo caliper for Endurance applications which has made it possible to reduce the time needed for pit stops: in the 2021 edition of the famous transalpine endurance race, the Brembo calipers were replaced every six hours whereas with the new one they only had to be changed every eight hours.

In practical terms, this means that the sets of worn calipers were reduced from 4 to 3 with obvious time benefits also thanks to the titanium radiators for fixing the pads to the pistons. During the 2022 24 Hours of Le Mans, after not even six hours into the race, one of the teams in the main category wasted valuable time in the pits because the brake calipers (not Brembo ones) had to be replaced. The Yoshimura SERT Motul took advantage of this and reduced the team’s lead by over 25 seconds, paving the way for the next pass.

This was made possible by combining the new pad and using ventilation fins positioned along the caliper body and derived from the experience gained in the premier class of the World Championship. The fins increase heat exchange in the braking system and help to cool it, something which is very important in endurance racing.

In addition to the fins, the new Brembo GP4-Endurance caliper derives from a model with the same name used in MotoGP and the World Superbike Championship: made from a single block of billet machined aluminum, it has four 32 and 36 mm diameter pistons and a nickel finish.

To tackle 8 hours of non-stop braking, the pads are 2 mm thicker than the previous caliper model. The Z03 Endurance pads now also have fins to improve overall cooling of the entire braking system.

Even when a caliper was used for only 2 hours longer, there was a risk that braking would be compromised during the seventh and eighth hours of each third of the race. In other words, the advantage of having to replace the calipers one less time could have had a negative effect on 6 hours of racing: 7th and 8th, 15th and 16th, and 23rd and 24th.

At first it didn’t seem worth it but by re-designing the dimensions of the caliper and renewing them by putting cooling fins on the caliper and the pads, Brembo was able to combine the benefits of a longer lasting pad, keeping the temperature under control and without significantly increasing the incidence of the unsprung weight.

The advantages were already clear during the calculation phase and were confirmed by hundreds of hours of testing, on the workbench and on the track, after which authorization to use them in the 24 Hours of Le Mans was given. Another Brembo invention, the RMC billet GP 19x18 master cylinder is responsible for the braking action. Machined from billet, it has been designed and developed to offer the best through optimum response and excellent linearity between the force applied by the rider on the brake lever and the response of the braking system.

As well as its exceptional performance in all the conditions encountered in endurance racing from humid heat to rain and cold night temperatures, the RMC billet GP master cylinder features play adjustment which is in line with the MotoGP standards guaranteeing maximum performance and consistency in the position of the lever. This is another advantage in races where there are three different riders in the saddle, all with their own needs and preferences.

The finishing order in the transalpine 24 Hours race has once again confirmed Brembo’s ability to find an innovative solution where other manufacturers have preferred to wallow in the status quo. By making its debut with such an important win, the Brembo GP4-Endurance caliper seems destined to become the new standard in the category, confirming once again Brembo’s ability as a solution provider.