Brembo Brake Facts For MotorGP At Sepang

November 1, 2018 by Brembo

Scorching temperatures put cooling at risk

DETROIT, (November 1, 2018) - For the fifth year in a row, the penultimate round of the MotoGP World Championship will be held at Sepang International Circuit, November 2-4, at the circuit designed by Hermann Tilke, which was inaugurated in March 1999.

Located 53 miles (85 km) from Kuala Lumpur on a 642 acres (260-hectare) oil palm plantation, this is the second longest track in the World Championship after Silverstone and one of the most difficult for the MotoGP braking systems.

Formula 1 also raced here, but the brakes on the single-seaters were under less stress compared to the motorcycles. There are lots of braking sections for the MotoGP bikes, and the time spent braking is significant. This combined with the tropical weather make managing the temperatures of both the brakes and the riders crucial. During a race in 2015, the air temperature reached 95°F (35°C) and the tarmac hit 116°F (47°C).

In the 2016, the rain played a key role in FP2, FP4, Q1, Q2 and even during the race: Several riders tested the Brembo carbon discs to eliminate the problem of weather variations and intermittent rain. That experimentation proved decisive for Marc Marquez and Andrea Dovizioso's victories respectively at Misano Adriatico and Motegi, where they used carbon discs to compete in the rain.

According to Brembo technicians, who assist 100 percent of the 2018 MotoGP pilots, Sepang International Circuit 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 Motegi, Spielberg and Barcelona.

The demand on the brakes during the GP

At the Sepang International Circuit the Formula 1 cars used their brakes eight times per lap for a total of 17 seconds, while the MotoGP bikes have to use them 11 times for more than twice the time, 35 seconds. That means the brakes on the motorcycles are in use for 29 percent of the race and those of the single-seaters for only 17 percent.

The average peak deceleration per lap of the MotoGP bikes is 1.07 G due to there being five braking points that measure less than 1 G. Summing up all of the force applied by a rider on the brake lever from the starting line to the checkered flag, the result comes in at about 1 ton. In other words, the riders are required to apply a force of more than 53 lbs. on the brake pedal every minute of the race.

The most demanding braking sections

Of the 11 braking sections on the track, two are classified as very demanding on the brakes, three are of medium difficulty and the remaining six are light. The most challenging corner is the Pangkor Laut (Turn 1): The MotoGP bikes hit the turn at 198 mph and enter it at 46 mph after traveling 288 yards in 5.3 seconds. The riders are required to apply significant force: 1.5 G in deceleration and a 15-pound load on the brake lever, while the Brembo HTC 64T brake fluid gets up to 11.7 bar of pressure.

Turn 15, which is after the Penang Straight, is also difficult: The MotoGP bikes go from 193 mph to 45 mph in 5.6 seconds thanks to the 13.4-pound load on the brake lever. The braking space on this corner measures 295 yards and the deceleration is 1.5 G.

There are three other corners where the braking distance is right around 210 yards: Turn 4 is 212-yards long, Turn 9 is 209 yards and Turn 14 is 207 yards. On this last corner the bikes enter going 'just' 113 mph and so the gap in speed attained through braking is less than 62 mph.

Brembo performance

Motorcycles with Brembo brakes have won all the last 26 Malaysian GP races contested in the premium class, including the ones hosted at Shal Alam and Jojor. From 2001 to 2006, Italian riders won five consecutive races: Valentino Rossi took the victory at four and Max Biaggi and Loris Capirossi each won one.

Ducati won the last two years with Andrea Dovizioso's victory in 2016 with Ducati. Yamaha, on the other hand, hasn't won at Sepang since 2010.

About Brembo SpA

Brembo SpA is the world leader and acknowledged innovator of disc brake technology for automotive vehicles. Brembo supplies high performance brake systems for the most important manufacturers of cars, commercial vehicles and motorbikes worldwide, as well as clutches and other components for racing. Brembo is also a leader in the racing sector and has won more than 300 championships. Today the company operates in 15 countries on 3 continents, with 23 production and business sites, and a pool of over 10,000 employees, about 10% of whom are engineers and product specialists active in the R&D. 2017 turnover is € 2,463.6 million (12.31.2017). Brembo is the owner of the Brembo, Breco, AP, Bybre, and Marchesini brands and operates through the AP Racing brand.

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