Here's how Marquez's Brembo brakes have changed from 125cc to MotoGP racing

2/16/2017

Let's take a journey among the Brembo brakes used by Marquez in the 5 world champion titles he has won. We'll look at the differences and the similarities from 2010 to today.

You can love him or hate him, but five World Championships aren't won by chance. Especially when in the history of the World Championship, only one rider has celebrated five victories before his 24th birthday.

Naturally we're talking about Marc Marquez, MotoGP World Champion for the third time in just 4 contended seasons.

All of the triumphs of Marc Marquez, just like those of Valentino Rossi, are united by a single common denominator: a Brembo braking system.

Of course, as variations were made to the racing categories and the motorcycles, the characteristics of the brakes changed too, but all of these components came out of the Brembo Racing production plants( www.brembo.com ) located just outside Bergamo in Northern Italy.

So, let's probe further into the characteristics of the systems Marquez won with.

1) THE CALIPERS

Brembo calipers are the most important common factor among the five bikes. The specifications of each caliper are different except for the monobloc solution in the front and the two-piece component in the rear.

The monobloc caliper enables optimal performance with regards to stiffness on the brake that is employed the most, the one in front. For technical reasons, two pieces were chosen for the rear where the smaller caliper leads to limited variation in stiffness. What did change for Marquez is the number of pistons on the calipers and their positioning.

On the Derbi that he rode to win the 2010 World Championship, there were two small pistons on both the front radial caliper and the axial rear caliper. The difference on the Suter he championed two years later was that it had four small pistons in the front.

Riding the Honda RC213V to win the triple crown in the premium class, this bike used radial calipers in both the front and the rear, but the back caliper had two small pistons. All of the calipers were made of aluminium, except for those on the title-winning bikes in 2013 and 2014 when aluminium-lithium was allowed in the front.

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The power and precision of MotoGP

Brembo High Performance brake calipers combine unrivalled stability with MotoGP levels of braking performance.

Manufactured using specific technologies for each model, these calipers are extremely stiff under stress, ensuring precise and consistent braking performance. The Brembo High Performance range offers the most discerning motorcyclists a choice of three front caliper lines (two-piece billet components, monoblock components and monoblock billet components) and one rear caliper line to cater fully for even the most extreme requisites.

2) THE DISCS

To contain costs, regulations for the obsolete 125cc and the Moto2 classes prohibited the use of carbon discs, which is why Marquez had Brembo steel discs with bush coupling when he won his first two World Championships.

As you can see, the measurements grew as the engine size increased. The Derbi had 218 mm discs in the front and 190 mm in the rear. The Suter employed 290 mm discs in the front and 218 mm in the rear with a thickness that surpassed that of the 125cc bikes.

The front discs on the Honda MotoGP are made in carbon and boast a diameter of 320 mm, but on some tracks the RC213V uses 340 mm discs. The thickness on these is greater than that of the lower classes.

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The essence of Brembo technology

Brembo High Performance discs are designed and tested to work best in conjunction with specific pads and combine consistent performance in extreme usage with superlative lightness. In addition to substantially increasing brake power, the materials and unique manufacturing processes used also ensure absolute consistency and extreme resistance to prolonged thermo-mechanical stress.
Brembo High Performance discs deliver uncompromised performance in all conditions, eye-catching racing looks and a significant reduction in weight compared with the original component.

3) THE PADS

All of the five bikes that accompanied Marquez in winning the various World Championships used rear H38 sintered pads. Indeed, this material offers the best in terms of performance but does not go so far as to be aggressive.

For this reason, the compound is different to the front pad where it is acceptable to be a bit more daring, as long as it is compatible with the constitutive material of the discs.

Which explains why the 125cc and the Moto2 have opted for the Z04 sintered pads while the MotoGP bikes use carbon pads. These carbon pads have undergone quite a few changes over the years, but for a question of confidentiality we can't delve any further into the details.

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Record-breaking performance, durability and safety

Pads with the Brembo Racing Z04 compound, used in the World Superbike and Supersport Championships and now available for street bike applications. The Brembo high performance brake pad range was developed exclusively for racing and designed to offer unparalleled performance in the most demanding race conditions: with greater braking control, greater system stability, increased braking power, outstanding resistance to high temperatures and reduced wear .

4) THE BRAKE MASTER CYLINDER

Besides supplying the World Championship bikes with calipers, discs and pads, for years Brembo has also produced the best competition brake master cylinders. Made from an aluminium billet, the front master cylinder used by Marquez has seen a change in piston size only once.

He had an inter-axle measuring 16 mm on the Derbi, while the Suter and the Honda both have an 18 mm inter-axle and larger pistons than the Derbi. The differences in the rear master cylinder are decidedly more significant.

In the 125cc class, Marquez used a master cylinder made through casting with an external reservoir that was not integrated into the body of the master cylinder.

The size of the piston remained the same as that of the Moto2 class but the reservoir was integrated into the body of the master cylinder, which was produced from an aluminium billet. MotoGP followed suit, adding a larger piston to these two characteristics.

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State-of-the-art technology for racing performance

Brembo offers a wide range of radial master cylinders and adjustable levers to replace and enhance the original system. Brembo High Performance master cylinders are manufactured with state of the art processes to ensure outstanding function and performance. Derived directly from motorsports, Brembo master cylinders are available as “Radial” and “Radial RCS” variants, which are easily installed on the most popular Japanese and European hypersports models.