At the end of March, the action took place at the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve, while this time it’s the turn of the Circuito Estoril, which has already hosted six editions for a total of 16 races: two in 1988 and 1993, three from 2020 to the present, with the exception of 2023, when no race was held.
GP data
According to Brembo engineers who work closely with 12 of the 14 teams in the Superbike World Championship, the 4.182 km Circuito Estoril falls into the category of tracks that are highly demanding on brakes.
On a scale of 1 to 5, it earned a difficulty rating of 4, as riders use the brakes for 30 percent of the lap—the highest percentage in the entire championship.
During a single lap, the brakes are applied 9 times for a total of 28.5 seconds: 2 braking points are classified as High, 2 as Medium, and 5 as Low.
Davide’s illusion
The third-to-last round of the inaugural Superbike World Championship in 1988 took place at Estoril.
Bimota asserted its dominance with Stéphane Mertens taking pole position, followed by a one-two finish in both races: in Race 1, Davide Tardozzi won with Mertens 2nd, and in Race 2 the positions were reversed.
At that point, Tardozzi led the championship with 80.5 points, Fabrizio Pirovano was 2nd with 74, and Fred Merkel 3rd with 69.5, with a win awarding only 10 points.
However, it was Merkel who ultimately claimed the title, while Tardozzi finished only 3rd in the championship.
Bimota’s brakes
The Bimota YB4 machines ridden by Tardozzi and Mertens in 1988 featured a twin-beam aluminum frame and a 749 cc inline-four Yamaha engine.
For braking, they were equipped with a Brembo system consisting of dual 320 mm front discs and a 230 mm rear disc, acted upon by two-piece calipers secured with four joining bolts. In tests carried out at the time by several magazines, the YB4 was able to come to a complete stop from 100 km/h in just 36 meters.
Five years ago
In the 2020 Superpole Race at Estoril, Yamaha swept the podium: Toprak Razgatlıoğlu won, Garrett Gerloff finished 2nd, and Michael van der Mark 3rd. It remains the only instance of a manufacturer triple on the Portuguese track.
That year, Brembo introduced the push & pull master cylinder, which allows the rear brake to be actuated with the index finger: this cylinder is mounted on the left lever and rotated 180° compared to the traditional thumb operation, a feature that increases modulation and lever control under braking.