Last summer GP for MotoGP, one week after the excitement delivered by the riders at Misano. A total of 36 GPs have been held in Austria, because in addition to the 34 Austrian GPs there were also the 2 Styrian GPs raced during the pandemic, in the two-year period 2020-2021.
The first 22 editions were held at the Salzburgring, from 1971 to 1994. In 1996 the race moved to the A-1 Ring, where it was held twice before returning there in 2016, when it had already taken the name Red Bull Ring.
The GP data
According to Brembo engineers who, for the 11th consecutive year, work closely with all MotoGP teams, the 4.348 km-long Red Bull Ring in Spielberg falls into the category of circuits that are highly demanding on brakes. On a scale of 1 to 6, it has a difficulty index of 6 due to 4 Hard braking sections, one Medium and 3 Light. The brakes are used for 34 per cent of the race, which is more than a third of the competition.
The toughest corner
The toughest corner of the Red Bull Ring for the braking system is the first: MotoGP bikes go from 311 km/h to 98 km/h in 4.1 seconds, during which they cover 215 metres, while the riders apply a load of 6.4 kg on the brake lever, one of the highest values of the season. Deceleration is 1.5 g, Brembo brake fluid pressure reaches 13.6 bar, and the temperature of the carbon discs rises to 780 °C.
The tenth Ducati
From 2016 to 2025, Ducati won 10 MotoGP Grands Prix at the Red Bull Ring, achieving one success per season, always with Brembo braking systems. The first victory came ten years ago with Andrea Iannone, followed by Andrea Dovizioso’s 3 wins, interspersed with Jorge Lorenzo’s victory. In 2021, Jorge Martin won the Styrian GP, followed by Francesco Bagnaia’s consecutive hat-trick and Marc Marquez’s triumph in 2025. The Red Bull Ring is the only track in the world where Ducati has won at least 10 premier-class Grands Prix.
Two disc options
During the season, MotoGP riders are free to use 320 mm, 340 mm and 355 mm carbon discs. However, for safety reasons, the International Motorcycling Federation regulations state that at the Red Bull Ring, in the event of a race declared dry by the Race Director, riders must choose either the 340 mm or 355 mm discs.
The inability to use 320 mm discs at the Austrian GP stems from static and dynamic tests carried out by Brembo. On this track, the brakes are subjected to particularly high stress, which increases the temperatures of the discs and pads, approaching in the case of the 320 mm discs the threshold beyond which they could encounter problems. A larger disc diameter instead increases heat dissipation, reducing temperature, also thanks to the fins introduced by Brembo in recent years to enhance air exchange.