MotoGP | GP Austria 2, the use of the brakes on the Red Bull Ring track

According to Brembo technicians who work closely with 100 percent of the MotoGP World Championship riders, the Red Bull Ring falls into the category of circuits that are highly demanding on the brakes. On a scale of 1 to 5 it deserved a difficulty index of 5, equaled only by the Barcelona track.

As with Formula 1, the MotoGP braking systems are also activated in 7 of the 10 corners of the Austrian track. However, the time it takes to use the brakes is completely different, as are the stresses on the braking system: for single-seaters the Spielberg track boasts a difficulty index of 3. ​

​The variants of the Brembo thumb master cylinder

Over a third of MotoGP riders regularly use the thumb pump. Brembo offers two main types: the standard configuration involves the connection of the thumb master cylinder and pedal to the rear brake master cylinder, in combination with a 2-piston rear caliper, via a single circuit.

With this, designed by Brembo in the 4s, it was not possible to activate the rear brake with the thumb master cylinder and the pedal at the same time: it could only be done with one of the two. Thanks to the variant with two separate circuits, both can be activated at the same time, via the XNUMX-piston Brembo rear caliper: each circuit in fact acts on only two of the four pistons.

The commitment of the brakes during the Styrian GP MotoGP

In each lap of the Red Bull Ring the drivers use the brakes 7 times for a total of 27 seconds, i.e. 17 seconds more than using the Formula 1 cars. The percentage comparison between the use of the brakes and the lap time is also very different: 32 percent for the MotoGP, 16 percent for the single-seaters.

In the 28 laps of the race in Spielberg each MotoGP uses the brakes for over 750 seconds, i.e. just over 12 and a half minutes. A large part of this value comes from braking at turns 1, 3 and 4, all with decelerations of 1,5 g and speed deltas above 200 km/h.

The most demanding braking of the Styrian GP

Of the 7 braking sections at the Red Bull Ring, 3 are classified as demanding on the brakes and the other 4 are of medium difficulty. For Formula 1, however, these last 4 are rated as not very demanding.

The hardest braking for the MotoGP is at the fourth corner, despite the bikes not reaching 300 km/h: with 5,4 seconds of braking in which they travel 259 meters the speed goes from 297 km/h to 83 km/h. The load exerted on the lever is 6,4 kg and the system pressure is 13,8 bar.