At Portimão, just 5 seconds are needed to reduce speed by 218 km/h (135 mph) with Brembo

4/13/2021

Everything you’ve always wanted to know about Brembo brakes and Marchesini wheels for the Portugal GP and your motorcycle

According to the Brembo engineers who work in close contact with all the riders in the MotoGP World Championship, the Algarve International Circuit falls into the category of circuits which tend not to be all that challenging for brakes. On a scale of 1 to 5, it was rated 2, the second lowest in the 2021 championship, the same as Phillip Island.

Its continuous ascents and descents make it hard for drivers to calibrate the throttle-off moment and risk arriving too late when going downhill or braking too early when going uphill: the maximum slope on descents is 12% and on ascents 6%, while the cross slope is 8% in some places. In this context, the wheels play an extremely important role and Marchesini is the best in its field.

Marchesini, the choice for who demands the very best

Marchesini has been part of the Brembo Group since March 2000 and shares the same production plant. Once again in the 2021 season, Marchesini forged magnesium wheels will be used on almost two thirds of the bikes on the MotoGP track with 5-spoke or 7-spoke Y design wheels at the front and 7-spoke wheels at the rear.

All these wheels are crafted by 3D closed-die multiforging and heat treatment and guarantee maximum rigidity and minimum inertia. The weight saving ensured by Marchesini wheels (which, together with the tires, are the most significant unsprung rotating weights) boosts the acceleration of the bike and its handling on turns, and enhances the brake response.

Lightness and performance for road bikes too

Marchesini not only provides an exhilarating experience for professional riders but develops solutions that guarantee high performance for road bike users. With their unique style, they are made using cutting edge methods of design, structural analysis and testing.

The M7R Genesi wheels have 7 spokes made of a magnesium alloy normally used in the aerospace industry with multidirectional forging and the use of dies optimized for final wheel geometry: they are 26 to 41% lighter than standard whe%els depending on the motorcycle model.

Find out more about Marchesini wheels

MotoGP bikes brake more than Superbikes

MotoGP riders use their brakes on 10 of the 15 turns on the Portuguese track, the same number as the World Superbike riders who will race here in October. The MotoGP brakes are used for 32 seconds on each lap compared with 31.5 seconds for the superbikes.

However, five of the braking episodes performed by the MotoGP bikes per lap involve drops in speed of less than 43 mph (70 km/h) and decelerations that do not exceed 1 G. On all the turns, the braking distances are less than 140 meters (459.3 feet) with two exceptions on each lap where they exceed 210 meters (688.9 feet) and require use of the brakes for 5 seconds. From the starting line to the checkered flag, the total force exerted on the brake lever is just over 8 quintals (1,764 lbs).

5 seconds needed to reduce speed by 218 km/h (135 mph)

Of the 10 braking sections on the Algarve International Circuit, only one is ranked demanding for the brakes, 3 are of average difficulty and the remaining 6 are not particularly challenging.

The hardest throttle-off moment for the MotoGP bikes is the first after the start/finish line where there is a 969 meter (3,179 feet) straight: the prototypes go from 332 km/h (206.2 mph) to 114 km/h (70.8 mph) in 5 seconds and cover a distance of 299 meters (980.9 feet). To do this, the riders exert a force of 5.7 kg (12.6 lbs) on the brake lever and a deceleration of 1.5 G whereas the brake fluid pressure reaches 12.2 bar.