MotoGP: Brembo, the German GP from a brake point of view

Brembo MotoGP Sachsenring – With the German GP, ​​scheduled from 30 June to 2 July at the Sachsenring, MotoGP reaches the halfway point of the season. Two weeks ago the German circuit celebrated 90 years of existence by organizing the Adac Sachsenring Classic.
Precisely in Germany, but at the Nurburgring, in 1978, for the first time a premier class race was won by a motorcycle with Brembo brakes: Virginio Ferrari (Suzuki) triumphed with just 7 tenths of an advantage over Johnny Cecotto.

The Sachsenring is the only MotoGP track less than 4km in length. Yet it actually boasts 13 corners, 10 of which are left-handed, while the straights are all quite short: the longest, the arrival one, is just over 700 metres.

The twistiness of the track translates into modest use of the brakes: 3 of the 7 braking sections last for less than 2 seconds and a fourth for just 2,2 seconds. On the other hand, the absence of long intervals between one corner and another hinders the cooling of the braking system, which is often hampered by high temperatures: in 2015 during the race the asphalt reached 42 degrees.

According to the Brembo technicians who assist 100 percent of the 2017 MotoGP riders, the Sachsenring falls into the category of circuits that are moderately demanding on the brakes. On a scale of 1 to 5 it earned a difficulty rating of 3, the second lowest of the entire summer after the TT Circuit Assen.

The engagement of the brakes during the GP
During an entire lap the MotoGP riders use the brakes 7 times for a total of 210 times over the entire race. The 19 seconds per lap in which the braking systems are called upon to intervene constitute the negative record of the championship, even lower than the 20 seconds of Phillip Island which despite only having 6 braking stops.

Unlike the Australian track which boasts only one deceleration of more than 1 g, the Sachsenring is characterized by 4 braking sections of at least 1,4 g. However, the other 3 braking applications of 0,6 and 0,7 g significantly lower the average per lap, bringing it to 1,10 g.
Adding up all the forces exerted by a rider on the Brembo brake lever from the start to the checkered flag, the value exceeds 9 quintals, equivalent to just over 5 examples of the BMW HP4 Race, the production motorcycle that features Brembo monobloc front calipers derived from the MotoGP.

The most demanding braking

Of the 7 braking sections on the Sachsenring, only one is considered highly demanding on the brakes, while 3 are of medium difficulty and the remaining 3 are light.
Braking at the first corner is the one that involves the greatest effort for the riders and the braking systems: the bikes arrive at 291 km/h and enter the corner at 74 km/h after 244 meters of braking. Riders apply the brakes for 5,2 seconds and experience a deceleration of 1,5 g. The pressure of the Brembo HTC 64T brake fluid reaches 10,6 bar, more than 5 times the ideal beer tapping pressure.

The load on the lever is identical (6,1 kg) to braking at turn 13 before the finish line. The brake fluid pressure is also the same despite braking lasting 3 seconds during which the MotoGP bikes cover 129 metres. On the other hand, the bikes arrive slower (219 km/h) and come out of braking faster (95 km/h).

At turns 2 and 3, however, the brakes are used for less than sixty meters each: 56 meters at turn 2 and 58 meters at turn 3, with loads on the lever lower than 3 kg in both cases.

Brembo performance

Counting the German GPs and the East German GPs together, bikes with Brembo brakes have won 30 races in the premier class. Limiting the analysis to the Sachsenring, not once did the winning bike in 500 and MotoGP do without Brembo components. Honda has won the last 7 editions: the first 2 with Dani Pedrosa, the following with Marc Marquez.

Brembo Sachenring MotoGP Braking Video

Photos: Alex Farinelli