For Marc Marquez, the only common denominator across his 9 World Championships is the Brembo brakes — which, however, have evolved greatly from the 125 class to MotoGP, just as his braking technique has also changed considerably.
Nine-time World Champion — that’s the milestone Marc Marquez reached in Japan, equaling the legendary Valentino Rossi, Mike Hailwood, and Carlo Ubbiali. Ahead of him now are only Ángel Nieto, with 13 titles (although the superstitious Spaniard preferred to say “12 plus 1”), and Giacomo Agostini with 15.
However, Marc Marquez is the only one among the multiple world champions to have waited six years before returning to the top. The long string of physical problems that followed his crash at Jerez in 2020 and the subsequent surgeries kept him away from his former dominance.
To get back there, he had to change the way he rides — and consequently, the way he brakes — as he explained in an interview with the historic French magazine Moto Revue last August, during the Austrian GP. Here are the key excerpts.
“Since my debut in MotoGP in 2013, braking has changed enormously because the bikes from 12 years ago have nothing to do with today’s machines. The evolution of aerodynamics has changed many things, allowing greater downforce on the rear. This has made braking more critical because the bikes are more stable, the rear wheel doesn’t lift, and we can brake much harder.”
“The shorter braking distances make it harder to make a difference. Before aerodynamic appendages, it was more difficult to keep the rear wheel on the ground, which created gaps. Today, everyone can brake very hard and very late. So to overtake, we have to use the slipstream to get alongside our rival under braking.”
“The biggest change since 2013 is the use of carbon brakes in the wet. When I made my debut, we still used steel discs in the rain. Now, we use the same discs for both dry and wet conditions.”
“I was one of the first to use carbon discs in the rain. Steel discs were too weak in terms of performance, and I didn’t like the way they had to be used. I pushed Brembo a lot to let me ride with carbon discs, which we then developed and improved.”
“Braking systems keep evolving. But since we can’t increase the size of the discs (because of wheel dimensions), we can increase the size of the pads. This changes the way you brake: you gain braking power at the start of braking but lose sensitivity at the end, when the bike is leaned over.”
“I like to have the front brake lever very close to the handlebar, but that makes it sensitive to pressure changes. When you’re in another rider’s slipstream, brake temperature rises and the lever becomes a bit spongy, almost touching your fingers. When riding alone, the lever feels firmer.”
“Throughout my career I’ve always used the rear brake a lot, but with the Ducati I’m using the front brake more than before because the front end of this bike is super stable.”
“With Ducati, I’ve started using the thumb brake for the first time. I’m still learning — taking it step by step — because I’m very demanding and precise. It has to work exactly the way I want it to.”
“I use the thumb brake differently depending on the corner. On left-handers, I use it to turn; on right-handers, to make the bike slide and maintain speed.”
“I don’t choose the size of the discs or the components — I leave that to the technicians.
A clear and analytical explanation, leaving no doubt about Marc Marquez’s technical awareness — the same awareness that allowed him to secure the world title with five GPs still to go.
Since his very first victories in the 125 class, Marquez has relied on Brembo braking systems — although, naturally, both the braking characteristics and the materials have evolved with each category step. It’s worth noting that carbon brakes are permitted exclusively in MotoGP.
Let’s dive deeper and take a closer look at how each individual braking component used by Marc Marquez has evolved throughout his career:
1) The Calipers
His Honda RC213V, which carried him to six premier-class titles between 2013 and 2019, as well as his current Ducati Desmosedici GP25, both use radial-mounted calipers front and rear — with four pistons at the front and two pistons at the rear.
Except for the title-winning bikes from 2013 and 2014, whose front calipers were made of aluminum-lithium alloy, all other calipers used across Marquez’s championship seasons have been made of aluminum.
The MotoGP calipers used by Marquez this year differ substantially from those of the 2010s, as in 2020 Brembo introduced the GP4 caliper.
This latest-generation design features cooling fins on the outer body, an anti-drag system, and a power amplification mechanism that increases braking force for the same lever pressure — ensuring stronger, more consistent braking performance throughout a race.
2) The Discs
As previously mentioned, in order to keep costs under control, the regulations of the now-defunct 125cc and Moto2 classes prohibited the use of carbon brake discs.
For this reason, during his first two World Championship titles, Marc Marquez used Brembo steel discs with bushing-mounted connections.
The disc dimensions increased in parallel with engine displacement. On his Derbi 125, Marquez ran discs measuring 218 mm at the front and 190 mm at the rear.
On the Suter Moto2, the setup evolved to 290 mm front discs and 218 mm rear discs, with greater thickness to handle the increased braking loads caused by higher engine power, greater bike mass, and longer race distances.
In MotoGP, both his Honda RC213V and Ducati Desmosedici are equipped with carbon discs, whose diameters range from 320 mm to 355 mm, with 340 mm being the intermediate option most frequently used.
On the most demanding circuits for braking — such as Spielberg, Buriram, and Motegi — riders are required to choose between the 340 mm and 355 mm discs.
The 355 mm version was only introduced in 2022, meaning Marquez did not have access to it during his six MotoGP World Championship seasons with Honda.
3) The Pads
All seven of the bikes on which Marc Marquez has won World Championships have used sintered H38 rear pads — widely regarded as the best compromise between performance and smoothness, providing strong braking power without being overly aggressive on the disc surface.
The compound differs between the front and rear systems, since front brakes can afford to use more aggressive materials, depending on the disc composition. This explains why, in the 125cc and Moto2 classes, Marquez used Z04 sintered pads, while in MotoGP he relies on carbon pads, fully compatible with the carbon discs used in the premier class.
Each pad weighs around 50 grams — less than half the weight of a typical road-going pad — but their lifespan rarely exceeds 1,000 km due to the extreme loads and temperatures of racing conditions.
Despite their compact size, carbon pads have undergone continuous development over the years, resulting in reduced wear and improved thermal conductivity, ensuring more consistent braking performance and feel throughout the race distance.
4) The Master Cylinders
Machined from a solid billet of aluminum, the front master cylinder used by Marc Marquez has varied in size according to the class. On his Derbi 125, he used 16 mm–diameter cylinders, while in MotoGP he now runs a 19 mm diameter master cylinder with an 18 mm lever ratio, delivering far greater hydraulic pressure and precision.
The rear master cylinder has undergone even more significant changes. On the Derbi, Marquez used a cast unit with an external reservoir, separate from the main body.
In Moto2, while the piston diameter remained the same, the master cylinder evolved into a billet-machined aluminum unit with an integrated reservoir, improving compactness, reliability, and resistance to temperature fluctuations.
In MotoGP, the reservoir remains integrated within the billet-aluminum body, but the piston diameter increases to provide stronger hydraulic response under the higher braking loads of premier-class bikes.
Compared to the Honda, Marquez’s Ducati also features a thumb-operated rear brake master cylinder, allowing him to control rear braking via a small lever on the left-hand side of the handlebar — a setup he adopted only with Ducati, providing finer modulation mid-corner and when managing rear-wheel slide on corner exit.