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Added on the 11/07/2018 23:15:13 - Copyright : Auto Moto EN
Everything you need to know about the demands on the braking systems mounted on the bikes ridden by Vinales, Rossi, Marquez and Dovizioso. With the 3 non-European rounds out of the way, MotoGP heads to Spain for the 4th round of the 2017 season, scheduled to take place from 4 to 6 May on the Circuito de Jerez. Opened on 8 December 1985, this track has hosted the premier class since 1987. Oddly enough, however, in 1988 the race was labeled the Portuguese GP because the Spanish GP was held in Jarama. On every lap, the riders will have to use the brakes 11 times for a total of 33 seconds. In absolute terms, that is not excessively high, especially if compared with the 38 seconds per lap at Austin and the 37 at Losail. However, on these two tracks, the lap records range from 1’55’’ to 2’05’’, whereas at Jerez lap times are 1’39’’ and that gives the Spanish track the highest percentage in the championship of time spent braking: 33 percent.
Following the event in South America, MotoGP is moving onto North America for the 3rd race of the 2018 World Championship scheduled for April 20 to 22 at the Circuit of the Americas (Austin, Texas). The track was designed by German architect Hermann Tilke and is one of the few circuits in the world to host both the MotoGP World Championship and Formula 1: the single-seaters register a lap time half a second lower than that of the motorcycles. Some stretches on the track were inspired by famous corners on historic circuits. The Texan circuit stands out for the intimidating incline on the straightaway leading to the first left-hand turn. In all, there is a difference of 133 feet between the lowest and highest points on the track, which makes it easy to imagine what might happen if the riders make a mistake in braking on the downhill stretch.
As per tradition, the MotoGP World Championship will end with the Valencian Community Grand Prix, being held this year from November 15-17. Stage of the race weekend, Circuit Ricardo Tormo is located just outside Valencia and is named for the first world champion rider from Valencia who died prematurely in 1998. Each lap, the MotoGP riders turn to their brakes nine times, splitting fairly evenly the amount of left and right-handed turns: there are five left-handed corners and four right-handed. On one full lap, the MotoGP riders use their brakes for a total of 27 seconds, which is equivalent to 31% of the time needed to complete a lap. The average peak deceleration per lap is 1.16 G, the highest of the four Spanish tracks used in MotoGP. If the section composed of turns 4 and 5 were eliminated, this figure would definitely be higher.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 1,020 kg (2,249 lbs). There are a good seven corners where the load reach at least 4 kg (8.8 lbs).
The third of Asian-Oceanic races poker, the Australian GP, is scheduled for October 25-27 at Phillip Island and will be the 17th MotoGP World Championship race of the season. Inaugurated in December 1956, the track has hosted the 500 cc MotoGP since 1989 and World Superbike since 1990. Located on Phillip Island 140 km (87 miles) from Melbourne, of all the circuits in the championship, this one is the closest to the South Pole. The last four editions saw the position on the 38th parallel south translate into rigid temperatures: During the race in 2016 and 2019, the air temperature never went over 13° C (55° F) and in 2018 it maxed out at 16° C (61° F). To maintain the correct operating temperature of the brakes, the MotoGP bikes often use carbon covers, the same they use on other circuits too when it rains. The riders could switch to steel discs when it rains but in 2017 in Motegi, the first 9 riders proved that it is also possible to race in the rain with Brembo carbon discs getting also great benefit from it.According to Brembo technicians, who assist 100% of the 2019 MotoGP pilots, Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit is only slightly demanding on the brakes. On a scale of 1 to 5, it earned a 1 on the difficulty index, a score that only Assen of the other 18 tracks earned. The same score was given for the Superbike race. Even though there are 12 corners, the Australian track only has seven points where the MotoGP bikes use their brakes, which is the same number than the Superbikes. No other MotoGP World Champion track requires less braking: Buriram and Spielberg have seven braking sections too. On average, the brakes are used for 22 seconds per lap at Phillip Island, which comes to 25% of the overall duration of the race. And the nearby icy waters of the Pacific Ocean ease the dispersion of the accumulated heat. The average deceleration is 1.07 G, but for four of the seven braking sections, it doesn't exceed 1 G. Adding up all of the force a rider applies on the brake lever from the starting line to the checkered flag, the result comes in at just under 5.9 tons, the lowest in the entire championship. For the Superbikes however, the value is closer to 4.9 tons because their races are only 22 laps long, as opposed to the 27 laps of the MotoGP races.
MotoGP is coming to Japan for the 16th competition in this year's World Championship being held October 18 to 20 at Twin Ring Motegi. Built by Honda in 1997, the track is located in the hills surrounding the city of Motegi on the island of Honshū, the biggest island in Japan. According to Brembo technicians, who assist 100% of the 2019 MotoGP pilots, the Twin Ring Motegi is very demanding on the brakes. On a scale of 1 to 5, it earned a 5 on the difficulty index, exactly the same score given to the track at Sepang and the two European circuits. Of the 14 corners on Twin Ring Motegi, ten require the use of the brakes and on five of these, the riders apply the brakes for more than four seconds. This explains why the braking systems are being operated for 33 seconds per lap, which is equal to 32% of the entire race, one of the highest percentages for the World Championship. Since there are three braking sections of modest length (between 35 and 92 meters each, or 115-302 feet), the mean deceleration is not very high, it stays down at about 1.2 G, but his is still higher than that registered by a Honda Civic Type R when braking from 100 to 0 km/h. 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 930 kg (2,050 lbs).
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