MotoGP 2016: the Czech Republic's MotoGP according to Brembo

8/5/2016

 An X-ray look at how brakes are used in the premier class at the Automotodrom Brno

The Automotodrom Brno will host the 11th race of the 2016 MotoGP World Championship from 19 to 21 August. Known as Masaryk Circuit, in honour of Czechoslovakia's first president (Tomas Masaryk), it was redesigned over the ashes of the 29 km long race track created in the '30s, and of the following tracks, which had welcomed several World Championships since 1965. Even though it's a 5.4 km circuit, it features several major curves and few straight segments: the longest being only 636 metres.

To increase the technical difficulties, the slope of the Brno race track changes often, the steepest upward slope reaching 7.52 degrees and steepest downward slope 5 degrees. According to Brembo technicians, who deal with all the MotoGP riders (Brembo supplies 100% of the riders in the premium class), the Automotodrom Brno is among the circuits considered demanding for the brakes. On a scale of 1 to 5, the difficulty index was ranked as a 4 - the same ranking as the Spielberg track and the Spanish circuits: Jerez and Aragon.

 

Brake use during the GP

Nearly all 14 curves require braking, which is why riders use their brakes for over 13 minutes from start to finish. On the other hand, the fact that only one braking section must be faced at more than 300 km/h means that average deceleration is fairly limited: 1.17 g.

The total of all the forces exerted by the rider on the brake lever throughout the whole GP comes out to about 1,200 kg, which is equivalent to 130 16-inch tires per vehicle.

 

The most challenging stops

Of the 11 braking sections on the Brno circuit, none are considered particularly demanding on the brakes. However, 7 are medium and 4 are light. The first curve (Frantisek Stansty), is slightly downhill, and is the longest: 260 metres, equivalent to 11 tennis courts, requiring you to go from 310 km/h to 126 km/h in only 4.6 seconds.

The most demanding for the braking system is the 3rd curve: the rider exerts a pressure of 6.1 kg on the brake lever resulting in a deceleration of 1.5 g as he goes from 291 to 109 km/h in 234 metres. The longest curve, in terms of brake use, is the one named after Kevin Schwantz (curve 10): riders need 236 metres to take the curve at 103km/h after having reached 273 km/h. The easiest braking session is curve 9; bikes must slow down by little more than 20 km/h before reaching the straight segment before the curve.

 

rappresentazione dettagliata del circutio di Brno 2016 con dettaglio curve 
 

Brembo Victories

                 

Bikes with Brembo brakes have won all 23 editions of the 500-MotoGP since 1993, the year that the competition was named the Czech Republic GP. Valentino Rossi won five of these, including his first World Championship victory 20 years ago, which he earned with an Aprilia 125 right here in Brno.


 

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