Brembo unveils round 7 of the Superbike World Championship in Brno

6/8/2018

An in-depth look at the way the bikes derived from standard production models use braking systems at Brno's Circuit

The World Superbike Championship 2018 has passed the half-way point and the seventh round is scheduled to take place at Brno's Circuit from 8 to 10 June. At 2 hours drive from Prague, the Czech Republic's track is back on the calendar after 5 years off. Its 5,403 metre long track is the longest of the 13 used in the present championship. Even if it is identical to the one used by the MotoGP, the Superbikes take about 4 seconds more to complete each lap. The straightways are rather short: they range from 35 metres in length up to the 636.56 metres of the finish lines straightway. The slopes instead are rather significant, with an obvious impact on the braking distances, especially downhill. According to the Brembo technicians, who work closely with 16 World Superbike riders, the Brno Circuit is a fairly demanding circuit for the brakes. On a scale of 1 to 5, it earned a 3 on the difficulty index, exactly because it alternates demanding hard braking with stretches where the braking is easy.

Brake use during the GP

Just as for the MotoGP, also the Superbikes have to apply the brakes on 11 of the 14 turns of the track. The time spent braking during the lap is just under 31 seconds and is almost identical for both categories: this is because the MotoGPs reach higher speeds (from 5 to 10 km/h more according to the track's points) but they head into the curve at the same speed. Therefore, having to endure a greater speed gap, the MotoGP carbon brake discs are used for the same time as Superbike's less performing steel discs. Considering instead the percentage of the time spent braking during the race, Brno Circuit's 26 per cent is one of the three lowest of the entire World Superbike Championship. Also the number of turns with at least 1,4 g decelerations is identical to that of the MotoGP: they are 6 for both categories. This is a very high value because for the next two circuits on the calendar, Laguna Seca and Portimão, the maximum deceleration never exceeds 1.3 g. Adding up all the forces exerted by a driver on the Brembo brake lever from start to chequered flag gives a value of over 900 kilos that is 200 kilos less than for the MotoGP: however remember that the Superbike races have 18 laps, 4 less than those of the premier bike racing category. It is no coincidence that the riders are required to apply almost the identical force for each lap: 52,3 kg for MotoGP, 51 kg for Superbike. The difference is just over 100 grammes each time the brake lever is pulled.

The most challenging braking zones

Of the 11 braking sections at the Brno Circuit, 6 are considered very demanding on the brakes while 1 is of medium difficulty and the remaining 4 are light. The most demanding by far is at turn 10, placed almost at the end of a long downhill slope. The Superbikes get there at 274 km/h and brake for 4.1 seconds getting down to 98 km/h. To do this the pilots apply a 6.1 kg force on the brake lever and undergo a 1.5 g deceleration. During the 199 metres of braking the pressure of the Brembo brake fluid reaches 13 bar. The space to brake is greater at the first and third turns: these measure 214 metres and 219 metres respectively. However, in the first case the braking is less intense and shorter: 3.7 seconds and 5.6 kg on the brake lever. In the second case instead the deceleration is less powerful because the track is going uphill: a deceleration of 1.4 g and a pressure of 12.1 bar on the Brembo brake fluid. The heaviest load on the brake lever is registered on curve 11: The braking section lasts for just 2.7 seconds since the speed goes from 215 km/h down to 106 km/h but the pilots apply a load of 6.7 kg and the pressure of the braking system rises up to 14.4 bar.

Brembo Performance

the bikes with Brembo brakes have won 18 out of 20 Superbike races at the Automotodrom Brno from 1993 to 2012, including the last 11: Oddly enough, however the last 5 have been won by Italian riders, 3 by Marco Melandri and 2 by Max Biaggi, every time with Brembo brakes. Among the current riders, also Jonathan Rea enjoyed a victory in 2010 with the Honda equipped Brembo brakes. Ducati's victories are instead 4, but the last one was taken by Troy Bayliss in 2008.