Brembo unveils the 2019 German MotoGP

7/3/2019

 An in-depth look at the premium class' use of braking systems at Sachsenring

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The Germany GP, scheduled for 5 to 7 July at the Sachsenring, is almost the mid-season turning point for MotoGP. ​

Two years ago the German racetrack celebrated its 90th anniversary. It was in Germany, at Nurburing in 1978, that a bike with Brembo brakes first won a race in the top category: the winner was Virginio Ferrari (Suzuki) with a gap of just 7 tenths over Johnny Cecotto. ​

Sachsenring is the only MotoGP circuit that is less than 4 km (2.49 miles) long. And yet, it has 13 bends, 10 of which are left turns, and very short straightaways: the longest, before the finish line, is just over 700 meters (0.4 miles). ​

The winding racetrack means that brakes are used only moderately: 3 of the 8 braking sessions last for less than 2 seconds, while another lasts only 2.4 seconds. ​

On the other hand, the short gaps between one bend and the next mean the brake system doesn't have time to cool, and high temperatures make matters worse: in 2015 the asphalt reached 42 °C during the race. ​

According to Brembo technicians, who assist 100% of the 2019 MotoGP pilots, Sachsenring is slightly demanding on the brakes. On a scale of 1 to 5 the track is ranked 3, the second lowest ranking for the summer after TT Circuit Assen. ​

 
 

​The demand on the brakes during the GP


 

Throughout the lap, MotoGP riders use their brakes 8 times for a total of 240 braking sessions in the whole race.
​The 23 seconds per lap during which the brakes are used are the second negative value for the championship, higher only of 22 seconds needed at Phillip Island, which only has 7 bends. Unlike the Australian track with only one deceleration above 1.1 g, Sachsenring stands out for at least 4 braking sessions of at least 1.2 g. 


But three braking sessions, with 0.4-0.6 g significantly lower the average, bringing it down to 0.95 g. The total of all the forces the rider applies to the Brembo brake lever from start to finish line is in excess of 800 kg (1,764 lbs).

 
 
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The most demanding braking sections

Of the 8 braking sections at the Sachsenring only two are classified as demanding on the brakes, 2 are of medium difficulty and the remaining 4 are light. The first bend is the most demanding both on the riders and on the brakes: the bikes come up to the bend at 285 km/h (177 mph) and take the bend at 76 km/h (47 mph) after braking for 249 meters (817 feet). 

The riders hold onto the brakes for 5.5 seconds and are subject to a deceleration force of 1.3 g. The pressure of the HTC 64T Brembo brake fluid is brought up to 13.2 bar. The load on the lever is 6.2 kg (13.7 lbs). 


 

At turn 12 braking lasts a mere 4.1 seconds, just enough time to go from 284 km/h (176 mph) to 118 km/h (73 mph). The load on the lever weighs 5.6 kg (12.3 lbs) and the pressure on the Brembo HTC 64T brake fluid reaches 12.1 bar. 


 

The brakes are used for less than 90 meters (295 feet) each for curves 2 and 3: 63 meters (206.7 feet) for curve 2 and 86 meters (282.2 feet) for curve 3, with less than a 3 kg load (6.6 lbs) on the lever in both cases.

 

Brembo Performance

By combining GP Germany and GP East Germany, bikes with Brembo brakes have won a total of 32 races in the 500-MotoGP. If we limit the analysis to Sachsenring, not even one winning bike in 500 or MotoGP went without Brembo components. Honda won the last 9 editions: the first 3 with Dani Pedrosa, and the rest with Marc Marquez.