Cookie Consent by Free Privacy Policy website Brembo unveils the use of its braking systems at the 2017 MotoGP Austria Grand Prix
july 31, 2017 - Brembo

Brembo unveils the use of its braking systems at the 2017 MotoGP Austria Grand Prix

Ducati aims for an encore at the #redbullring while Valentino Rossi 
and Marc Marquez seek to overcome a taboo.
 
One month after having hosted Formula 1, the #redbullring in Spielberg (Austria) will be home to the 11th appointment of the #motogp season. The bikes will enter the track from 11 to 13 August, just 7 days after the Czech Republic GP.
Located near the Zeltweg military airport, the racetrack was recently renovated thanks to a push by Dietrich Mateschitz. The #motogp bikes were first introduced to the new circuit last year, and they immediately picked up speed, #racing around the track at 186 km/h on average for the qualifying session.
The track has few curves, only 9, with the many straightaways concentrated near the finish line. Brakes are not needed for every bend. Curiously, however, there is not a single bend where #motogp bikes brake that Formula 1 single seaters don't brake as well: the intensity is different of course; there's no comparing the speed with which the cars and the bikes face the curves.
The many undulations of the track complicate the drivers' choice of timing braking: there's a 65 meter difference between the highest and the lowest point, and the steepest slope has a 9.3 percent incline.
According to #brembo technicians, who assist 100% of the 2017 #motogp pilots, the #redbullring is very demanding on the brakes. On a scale of 1 to 5, it earned a 5 on the difficulty index, the same score given to the tracks in Barcelona, Motegi and Sepang.
The demand on the brakes during the GP
On one full lap, the #motogp riders use their brakes 7 times for a total of 25 seconds. As we noted before, Formula 1 cars also brake 7 times in each lap but for a total of just 9.3 seconds  Only Phillip Island has less braking sessions per lap (6) while Sachsenring also features 7.  
Over the 28 race laps at Spielberg each #motogp bike uses its brakes for some 700 seconds, that's just under 12 minutes. Last month, on the other hand, Valtteri Bottas completed the 71 laps of the #austria GP using #brembo calipers for just 11 minutes.  
Average deceleration per lap for the #motogp is 1.3 g, which is a record for the championship: an incredibly high value when we notice that the Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio brakes from 200 km/h to 0 km/h with a 1.15 g deceleration.
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 1.05 tonnes: the load is never below 4.7 kg for any braking session.
The most demanding braking sections
Of the 7 braking sessions at the #redbullring, the first 3 are very hard on the brakes while the remaining 4 are of average difficulty. 
The most challenging session is Castrol Edge (curve 1) since it is located at the fastest point on the track, despite being slightly uphill: the #motogp bikes reach the bend at 312 km/h and then brake for 4.1 seconds to slow to 99 km/h. Riders put 6.4 kg pressure on the brake lever and are subjected to a 1.5 g deceleration. 


Formula 1 single-seaters reach this same section at a slightly higher speed (318 km/h), but are able to enter the curve at 137 km/h and, most importantly, can slam on the brakes without fear of flipping over: braking only lasts 1.77 seconds and 52 meters, one fourth the distance (216 meters) required by the #motogp bikes.


The braking time and distance are even greater for Rauch (curve 3), partly due to the downhill slope: 251 meters and 5.2 seconds to come down from 294 km/h to 79 km/h. Here deceleration is also 1.5 g, while for Formula 1 drivers it gets up to 4.7 g. The pressure of the #brembo HTC 64T brake fluid in the #motogp bikes climbs to 9.8 bar, while it peaks at 11 bar for Castrol Edge.


Remus (curve 2) is the slowest on the track with a speed of 64 km/h on entry. Riders clamp on their brakes for 5 seconds putting a 5.8 kg load on the lever. The comparison with the four wheelers is less stark since the F1 brakes are used for 2.4 seconds to drop to 76 km/h after braking.
Brembo performance
Bikes with #brembo brakes have won 9 editions of the #austria GP: the first 4 victories went to Yamaha (3 with Eddie Lawson), followed by Honda with an equal number of wins (3 by Michael Doohan). Last year, on the other hand, the winner was Ducati with Andrea Iannone coming ahead of teammate Andrea Dovizioso. Of the riders in the current #motogp, only Iannone and Johann Zarco have ever won at the #redbullring, both with #brembo brakes: the French rider's triumph came last year in Moto2. Meanwhile, Valentino Rossi and Marc Marquez have never won in #austria.

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