5 facts about the MotoGP Spanish Grand Prix

4/22/2024

 Fourth round of the season for MotoGP.

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MotoGP returns to Europe where it is set to stay until mid-September, with the exception of the Kazakh Grand Prix scheduled for June. The Circuito de Jerez, named after Angel Nieto, a 13-time world champion, hosted the Moto2, Moto3, and MotoGP tests between February and March. 



The GP data 


According to Brembo technicians who work closely with all MotoGP riders, the Circuito de Jerez Angel Nieto, with a length of 4.42 km, falls into the category of demanding circuits for brakes. On a scale from 1 to 6, it has earned a difficulty index of 4 due to 11 braking zones per lap lasting 33 seconds in total. The overall load on the brake lever applied by each rider throughout the entire Grand Prix approaches one ton.

 



The first Spaniard with the last axial brakes


Longtime dominators of the lower categories, Spanish riders began to make their mark in the premier class in the late 1990s, thanks to Alex Crivillé: the Catalan was the runner-up in 1996, missed a third of the 1997 season due to injury, finished third in 1998, and clinched the 1999 championship. He triumphed aboard the official Honda equipped with 290 mm and 320 mm carbon discs, depending on the needs, and Brembo four-piston calipers. 


That was the last premier class championship won by a bike equipped with axial calipers because in 2000, Kenny Roberts Jr. claimed victory with Suzuki adorned with radial calipers. A solution that seemed impossible to achieve but with tenacity, Brembo engineers managed to implement it. The first to experiment with it was the Aprilia 250, followed by the official Suzuki 500s. And it was precisely the successes of the latter that prompted the HRC team to use them towards the end of the 1999 season when Crivillé's title was already secured.

 

The toughest turn 


The toughest turn at the Circuito de Jerez Angel Nieto for the braking system is Turn 6: MotoGP bikes decelerate from 296 km/h to 67 km/h in 5.1 seconds, covering 229 meters in the process, while riders exert a brake lever load of 5.5 kg. The deceleration is 1.5 g, Brembo brake fluid pressure reaches 11.7 bar, and the temperature of the carbon discs reaches 700°C.



 

The shove by Vale 


In 2005, the World Championship began at Jerez. Valentino Rossi took pole position with half a second advantage over Sete Gibernau. The friendship between the two had deteriorated the previous year in Qatar when the Italian was relegated to the back of the grid because his mechanics had cleaned the starting grid spot. At Jerez, the Spaniard led for much of the race, but Rossi passed him on the penultimate lap, only to make a braking mistake on the final lap. Gibernau regained the lead, but at the last corner, the Italian attacked him on the inside, nudging him with a shove. Thanks to that clever move, Valentino managed to prevail. 



The masters of design 


In the winter of 1958, Pablo Picasso made his mark on a world premiere: in Cannes, he painted "Las guirnaldas de la paz" on the side of a Citroën DS19, depicting flowers, a tree, and a family. Brembo also contributes to the customization of cars through colored calipers, in production since as far back as 1992. Red is the most iconic color, but there are over 150 solutions available: through color, Brembo has transformed a "simple" mechanical product into a true design icon. Almost like Picasso.