Cookie Consent by Free Privacy Policy website Brembo unveils the use of its braking systems at the 2017 MotoGP Grand Prix of Aragon
september 19, 2017 - Brembo

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

Will Andrea Dovizioso be able to dispel the taboo on the youngest Spanish track?


For the third time this year, #motogp is back in #spain, this time to contest round 14 of the World Championship scheduled for September 22 to 24 at MotorLand Aragón. Located on 350 hectares of land, the circuit was designed by German architect Hermann Tilke in collaboration with Spanish Formula 1 driver Pedro De La Rosa. 

The track was inaugurated on September 6, 2009 and it has been hosting #motogp since 2010, the year it became the fourth World Championship GP race on the Iberian Peninsula. The track measures 5.077 km and is characterized by two long straights that are separated by just a pair of corners. The Superbikes race here too, but they add a couple of seconds to their lap times compared to the #motogp bikes. 

The track is considered fairly technical and quite challenging on the brakes seeing as how on the first 2 km there are seven braking sections, which means the braking system has a tough time cooling down. The tight sequence of braking sections on the first half of the track puts the brakes at risk of problems.

According to #brembo technicians, who assist 100% of the 2017 #motogp pilots, MotorLand Aragón is demanding on the brakes. On a scale of 1 to 5, it earned a 4 on the difficulty index, exactly the same score given to the tracks at Jerez and Brno.

The demand on the brakes during the GP

The #motogp riders apply the brakes on 11 of the 17 corners, once more with respect to Superbike riders. On one full lap, the #motogp riders use their brakes for a total of 34 seconds, three seconds more than the Superbikes. The difference is due to the variation in speeds reached by the two categories: The #motogp bikes go more than 340 km/h, while the bikes derived from standard production models go just barely over 300 km/h.  

Over the course of the 23 laps of the race, the #motogp riders use their brakes for 13 minutes, which is equivalent to 31% of the entire Grand Prix. Only Austin registers an average peak deceleration per lap that is lower than the 1.07 G at MotorLand Aragón. The average deceleration for the Superbikes on this track is 1.13 G. 

Summing up all of the force applied by a rider on the #brembo brake lever from the starting line to the checkered flag, the result comes in at more than 0.58 tons, a good 0.20 tons more than the force required of the Superbike riders, although the Superbike race is five laps shorter. Even on a single lap, the #motogp riders are required to apply more force than the Superbike riders because they use carbon brakes: 52 kg against 45 kg. 

The most demanding braking sections

Of the 11 braking sectionson the circuit, two are considered very demanding on the brakes, four are of medium difficulty and five are light.

The corner that puts the most stress on the braking systems is
turn 16, which is preceded by a 968 meters straight. The #motogp bikes go from 344 km/h to 139 km/h in 4.6 seconds while traveling 284 meters. The riders apply a load of 8.1 kg, the record for the championship. They also undergo a deceleration of 1.5 G and the pressure in the HTC 64T #brembo brake fluid reaches 14 bar, which is just a little less than double the pressure in a truck's tires.

The gap in speed lost at the first turn after the finish line is slightly less: 196 km/h, starting from 285 km/h and going down to 89 km/h, but more time is spent braking, a full 5 seconds. To brake like this the riders need 245 meters and have to apply a load of 6.6kg. The Superbikes, on the other hand, put an 5kg and a 5.5 kg load on the lever at these two corners, respectively. 

The effort required in braking at turn 12 is also worth noting: the bikes go from 266 km/h to 96 km/h in 222 meters and 4.7 seconds, and the brake fluid pressure reaches 10.4 bar. At this corner, although the Superbikes use their brakes for just 1.9 seconds, their brake fluid gets up to 12.7 bars of pressure.

Brembo performance

Bikes with #brembo brakes have won all of the seven Aragón GP races contested up to now: Honda triumphed four times, Yamaha twice, and Ducati won the inaugural race in 2010 with Casey Stoner. In the last five races, Spanish riders took the top podium every time. This is one of the few tracks where Valentino Rossi has never won. Marc Marquez on the other hand took the victory once in Moto2 and twice in #motogp, every time with #brembo brakes.

You might be interested in

march 04, 2024
february 21, 2024
february 20, 2024

KTM’s extensive presence and impact in the Moto3™ and Moto2™ categories of 2024 MotoGP™ will once more lie in the extremely capabl...

Red Bull GASGAS Tech3 made their final tweaks and adjustments under the glaring lights of the Lusail International Circuit to wrap...

AT THE END OF THE LAST PRE-SEASON TESTS, ALEIX AND MAVERICK PROMOTE THE RS-GP24Lights out on the Losail Circuit and the MotoGP pre...