Sawasdee Thailand: MotoGP brakes hard on your track

9/27/2022

The use of Brembo calipers at Buriram and components inspired by them for anyone who uses their bike on the track

After a two-year break due to the pandemic, MotoGP returns to Thailand and like the two previous years will race at the Chang International Circuit. According to Brembo engineers, this is a very demanding circuit on brakes. On a scale of 1 to 6, it is rated 6 on the difficulty index.

The track has been designed by the German architect Hermann Tilke and is 410 km (255 mi) north of the capital Bangkok, at Buriram which in the local language means “town of happiness”. The track's layout alternates very long straights that end with a hard braking session with second and third gear curves where gaining the right pace is essential.

Super lightweight and optimum cooling for Brembo MotoGP calipers

Brembo 4-piston monobloc calipers for MotoGP will be in action for the first time at the Thailand GP. Introduced in 2020, they are made from a single block of billet machined aluminum. Compared with casting, billet machining allows for the use of materials with better mechanical characteristics and better resistance to high temperatures.

The shape of the caliper body is conceived to optimize the mass/stiffness ratio using the topological optimizer, a computer program derived from 40 years of victories in 500/MotoGP. The calipers used have several cooling fins and are lighter than previous models. The surface finish has a nickel filler.

MotoGP technology for road bikes too

Ever since it first went into world racing in the 1970s, Brembo has used races to develop new technical solutions which, once they have proved to be successful and reliable, are used in mass production. The Brembo High Performance brake calipers, with unparalleled braking performance and stability, derive from the company's experience on the track.

The Brembo GP4-RS caliper inspired by the monobloc used in MotoGP respects this philosophy. Designed for track enthusiasts and those who want the very best, its lightness, stiffness, cooling, design and performance make it stand out from competitors' products.

Here are 7 reasons why you should switch over to the new Brembo GP4-RS caliper, the queen of the racing track.

Turn 12 is an exception 

The MotoGPs use their brakes on 7 of the 12 turns on the track for a total of 26 seconds per lap amounting to 28% of the entire GP. Four of the braking episodes are all on the first 5 turns due to the straight sections leading up to them. The only exception on the second half of the track is turn 12 with a braking distance of 202 meters (220.9 yards) needed to reduce speed by 199 km/h (123.7 mph).

Summing up all of the forces applied by a rider on the Brembo brake lever from the starting line to the checkered flag, the result comes to nearly 790 kg (1742 lb), 150 kg (330.7 lb) less than the Japanese GP. However, on the first corner as well as on the fourth, the load on the lever is 5 kg (11 lb) and the brake fluid pressure reaches 10.8 bar.

Almost 6 seconds on the third corner 

Of the 7 braking sections at the Chang International Circuit, 3 are classified as very demanding on the brakes, another 3 are of medium difficulty, and only 1 is light.

The hardest of all on the brake system is the third turn, preceded by a straight that is almost 1 kilometer (0.6 miles) long: the MotoGPs go from 323 km/h to 77 km/h (200.7 mph to 47.9 mph) in 5.7 seconds and cover a distance of 272 meters (297.5 yards). The riders apply a load of 5.4 kg (12 lb) to the brake lever and are subjected to 1.5 g deceleration while the Brembo HTC 64T brake fluid pressure soars to 11.6 bar.

And what about the video games?

To take on Corner 3 on the Chang International Circuit in the MotoGP video game, remember that when you come out of corner 1, the road is not perfectly straight but bends to the left leading into corner 2: to avoid ending up on the grass, start leaning into the curve early and avoid being too far right. In this way, you can continue to accelerate until you go past the second of the row of 4 stands on the left. Then move down into 2nd gear before moving close to the curb: since it is a hairpin, do not open the throttle up too early.