San Donato, the legend of Dovizioso and Brembo brakes: welcome to Mugello

6/6/2023

 Four weeks after the French GP, MotoGP restarts from Italy. According to the Brembo technicians, the Mugello Circuit is a moderately demanding circuit for brakes.

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Four weeks after the French GP, MotoGP restarts from Italy, which will also host a second round in September, even if this has historically been called the San Marino GP. According to the Brembo technicians who work closely with all the MotoGP World Championship riders, the Mugello Circuit is a moderately demanding circuit for brakes.  


On a scale of 1 to 6, it earned a 3 on the difficulty index, lower than the 4 of Misano Adriatico. The Tuscan track also boasts one of the longest straights in the Championship calendar (1.141 km/0.709 mi) which demands a powerful engine and, naturally, a top notch braking system so what you have gained on the straight in braking is not lost. Fortunately, the distance between the remaining 14 corners allows the carbon fiber discs to cool down.



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Dovizioso becomes a Legend

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The Italian GP will provide the stage for the ceremony inducting Andrea Dovizioso into the MotoGP Legends Hall of Fame. In 2001 the rider from Forlì won the 125 European Championship with Aprilia equipped with Brembo brakes and three years later won the 125 World Championship. He debuted in MotoGP in 2008: he came second in the world championship of the premier class in 2017, 2018 and 2019, giving us some great clashes.

He achieved all of his 15 MotoGP victories with Brembo discs, calipers and pads, also using the Brembo thumb master cylinder, a solution designed in 1992 to allow Mick Doohan to use the rear brake despite his impaired right leg. Dovizioso only used it on right-hand turns because when he wasn’t in the middle of the curve, it wasn’t possible for him to operate the rear brake with his foot.

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Attention before and after the line

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At the Mugello Circuit, MotoGP riders use the brakes 10 times per lap, for a total of 25 seconds, a value corresponding to 24% of the total duration of the race, one of the lowest percentages of the championship together with the Australian GP, though this involves a circuit with a different layout.

The toughest braking on the Tuscan track is to be found near the finishing/starting line, even if there are considerable differences between them: nearly 100 km/h (62 mph) of deceleration and more than 120 meters (131 yds) of braking distance. Summing up all of the forces applied by a rider on the Brembo brake lever from the starting line to the checkered flag, the result comes in at more than 1 ton.

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320 meters (350 yds) of braking

Of the 10 braking sections at the Mugello circuit, 2 are classified as demanding on the brakes, 4 are of medium difficulty and the remaining 4 are relatively light.

The hardest braking event is the one at San Donato (turn 1): preceded by a downhill section, the MotoGPs approach at at least 337 km/h (209 mph) (with no slipstream) and start the turn at 89 km/h (55 mph).

To do this, the riders apply the brakes for 5.6 seconds and cover a distance of 320 meters (350 yds). There is massive deceleration (1.6G), the brake fluid reaches 11.5 bar and the temperature of the brake discs 660 °C (1220°F).

 

And in the video games?

The first turn of the Italian GP in the MotoGP video game is one of the toughest, because after passing the finish line, the tracks turns slightly to the right, then left, increasing the complexity of the choice.

You take the marshals’ gazebo, under the stands, as a reference for where to brake. Since the turn is very long, you must take your time before opening up the throttle to gain speed.