Braking in the Styrian Grand Prix: 17 seconds more in MotoGP than in Formula One

8/3/2021

A comparison between the two categories at the Red Bull Ring and a focus on Brembo GP4 calipers for racing and enthusiasts

After a long summer break, the MotoGP World Championship returns to the track with the first of two events at the Red Bull Ring. According to the Brembo technicians who work closely with all the MotoGP World Championship riders, the Austrian track is an extremely demanding circuits for brakes. On a scale of 1 to 5, it is rated 5 on the difficulty index.

The only circuit where riders take less time to complete a lap is the Sachsenring, but the German track is over half a kilometer shorter and uses much less braking power. At Spielberg, extremely high speeds are reached because of the long straight sections, most of which lead into tight corners.

Maximum lightweight and cooling for Brembo MotoGP calipers 

Used exclusively in MotoGP, the Brembo radial mount 4-piston monobloc calipers are made from a single block of billet machined aluminum-lithium. Compared to casting, billet machining allows for the use of materials with better mechanical characteristics and greater resistance to high temperatures.

As well as having fins on the external body, it has an anti-drag system which uses a spring device to significantly reduce residual torque. This caliper also increases braking torque because when braking, it generates a force which is combined with the force created by the hydraulic pressure of the brake fluid on the pistons.

MotoGP technology for street-legal motorcycles, too

Ever since it first went into world racing in the 1970s, Brembo has used the 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 for next spring.

Find out more.

17 seconds more than Formula One

Just like Formula One, the MotoGP bikes use their brakes on 7 of the 10 corners. However, the values are very different: on 4 braking episodes, the braking distances for the motorbikes exceed 200 meters with 250 meter highs whereas the single-seaters never reach 150 meters. There is an amazing difference at corner 9 where deceleration is 68 km/h for the F1 cars but more than double that for the MotoGPs.

On each lap, the MotoGP riders use their brakes for 27 seconds which amounts to 32% of the total race time. This is due, above all, to the first four corners alone where the brakes are used for a total 15 seconds. For the F1 cars, on the other hand, braking on these corners does not reach 7 seconds and only just reaches 10 seconds for a whole lap.

Top values on the first corner

Of the 7 Red Bull Ring braking points, 4 are classified as hard on the brakes, whereas the other 3 are of medium difficulty. For Formula 1 on the other hand, a total of 4 are considered light.

The hardest braking section for MotoGP is the first corner due to the effort required by the rider and the braking system: going from 303 km/h to 100 km/h (188 mph to 62 mph) in 4.2 seconds takes 6 kg (13 lbs) of load on the brake lever whereas the Brembo brake fluid reaches a pressure of 12.8 bar.. In the meantime, the motorcycles cover a distance of 221 meters (242 yards) and the riders experience 1.5 G of deceleration.