MotoGP bids farewell to Europe to contest 4 rounds across Asia and Australia, before returning for the final 2 GPs of the season, scheduled on the Iberian Peninsula.
First stop at the Mobility Resort Motegi, which will host its 25th GP: 20 editions of the Japanese GP have taken place on this track, plus 4 Pacific GPs.
From 2000 to 2003, Japan actually staged two seasonal GPs, one at Motegi and the other at Suzuka, the circuit that hosted the first Japanese GP of the World Championship back in 1963.
The GP data
According to Brembo engineers who work closely with all MotoGP riders, the 4.801 km Mobility Resort Motegi ranks among the circuits that are highly demanding on brakes.
On a scale from 1 to 6, it has a difficulty rating of 6, the maximum, alongside the Thailand GP and Austria GP.
Critical are the 8 braking zones per lap, of which 5 are classified as Hard and 2 as Medium. Over a single lap, MotoGP riders use the brakes for 31.5 seconds, tackling 6 decelerations of at least 1.3 g.
The toughest corner
The toughest corner for the braking system at Mobility Resort Motegi is Turn 11: MotoGP bikes slow from 310 km/h to 85 km/h in 4.9 seconds, covering 239 metres while applying 5.6 kg of force on the brake lever.
The deceleration reaches 1.5 g, and Brembo brake fluid pressure peaks at 12 bar.
Very hot
The presence of many hard, closely spaced braking zones at Mobility Resort Motegi prevents the carbon discs from cooling properly: after Turn 1, Brembo disc temperatures exceed 550°C, then approach 700°C after Turn 3 and climb even higher after Turn 4.
Temperatures drop again in the second part of the track, before rising from Turn 10, returning to the levels seen at Turn 1 and surpassing 650°C at Turn 11.
Mandatory discs
To better cope with these temperatures and the stresses they impose on the entire braking system, Brembo has, in recent years, introduced 355 mm carbon ventilated discs, equipped with fins to enhance heat exchange, alongside the 340 mm versions.
At the Japanese, Austrian, and Thai GPs, if the race is declared dry by the Race Director, riders cannot use the 320 mm discs as they are deemed inadequate for the required loads and must choose between the 340 mm and 355 mm discs. Increasing the disc diameter improves thermal dispersion in the radial direction.
The Ducati streak
Ducati comes off 82 consecutive MotoGP GPs with at least one podium finish. The last time it missed was at the 2021 British GP: that day Fabio Quartararo won with the Yamaha, Alex Rins was 2nd with the Suzuki, and Aleix Espargaró 3rd with the Aprilia.
By securing at least one podium on Sunday at the Mobility Resort Motegi, Ducati would equal Honda’s record of 83 consecutive podiums, set from the 1993 FIM GP to the 1999 Imola GP. The only common factor between the two streaks is Brembo brakes, which equipped at least one of the podium bikes in every GP of both series.