The second half of the MotoGP season opens with the Austrian GP, which for the ninth consecutive edition is held at the Red Bull Ring, also the venue for the two editions of the Styrian GP held in 2020 and 2021, to replace those countries that had closed their borders due to Covid-19. Unlike Formula 1, to reduce speed and therefore risks, the bikes must tackle the chicane located just beyond the halfway point of the straight between turns 1 and 3.
GP data
According to Brembo technicians who work closely with all MotoGP riders, the 4.35 km long Red Bull Ring in Spielberg falls into the category of highly demanding circuits for the brakes. On a scale of 1 to 6, it has a difficulty index of 6 because it boasts 4 Hard category braking sections and the same number of Medium. Six of these braking sections require use of the brakes for more than 3.5 seconds and involve decelerations of at least 1.3 g. The riders use the brakes for exactly one third of the race, 30 seconds each lap.
Record measures
The Grand Prix regulations approved by the International Motorcycling Federation allow MotoGP bikes to use 320 mm, 340 mm and 355 mm diameter carbon discs. However, for two Asian tracks and the Red Bull Ring, in the event of a race declared dry by the Race Director, the riders cannot use 320 mm discs. For these three cases, they must choose between 340 mm and 355 mm.
This rule was developed in collaboration with Brembo, which, with data in hand, has shown how the brakes are particularly stressed on these three tracks. In fact, as the diameter of the disc increases, heat dispersion in the radial direction improves. To facilitate heat dissipation and the exchange surface with the air, from 2022 MotoGP riders will have 355 mm finned discs, i.e. equipped with fins.
The hardest curve
The Red Bull Ring’s hardest turn for the braking system is turn 4: the MotoGP bikes go from 299 km/h to 85 km/h in 5.1 seconds, covering 243 meters while the riders apply a load of 5.5 kg on the brake lever. The deceleration is 1.5 g, the pressure of the Brembo brake fluid reaches 11.8 bar and the temperature of the carbon discs reaches over 1000 °C.
The day of the firsts
The 2020 Styrian GP went down in history for a series of firsts. The day opened with the first GP win by Celestino Vietti, in Moto3. In Moto2, Jorge Martin was first under the checkered flag, but was penalized one position for exceeding track limits on the last lap, leaving Marco Bezzecchi to win, his first success in Moto2. Finally, in MotoGP, Miguel Oliveira took the win: for the Portuguese and the Tech3 team, it was the first victory in the premier class. All three winners that day used Brembo calipers.
The most extreme race
Austria is home to the world’s most famous extreme enduro race, the Erzberg Rodeo. The Erzberg is a mountain just under 1,500 meters above sea level, also in Styria, near the town of Eisenerz. The race takes place in a giant iron quarry crossed by a 35 km route: 1,500 participants but only the 500 fastest of the prologue can compete in the final which involves overcoming 25 checkpoints. This year only 8 riders crossed the finish line before the end of the 4 hours.
#MotoGP #Brembo #Red #Bull #Ring #brake #race
