It’s not every day that we talk about an important component of MotoGP bikes. Brakes are essential for performance and have many parts – from calipers to discs, pistons, pads, and more. Brembo is the championship’s exclusive supplier, and Mattia Tombolan discussed the topic.
Brembo’s race engineer mentioned in an interview for the championship’s official broadcast that Motegi, which hosts the Japanese GP this weekend, is one of the most demanding circuits: ‘In Brembo’s manual, this circuit is categorized as 6, like Spielberg or Buriram. The teams and riders can chose between 340 mm and 355 mm [discs] at this circuit. […]. For sure it’s a highly demanding circuit for the brakes – I think a bit less than Spielberg, but still very high’.
Tombolan explained that the choice depends primarily on what the rider feels and wants: ‘A lot depends on the rider’s style, also on the rider’s feelings. Because a bigger disc means that also the rider has a bigger radius to apply pressure. […]. So, some riders prefer this because they can apply less pressure, so less force on the arm. Some riders don’t like it because it’s too aggressive’.
There’s also the issue of temperature, according to the engineer: ‘There is also something related to temperature, so we need to find the balance for this, because we give them a map of temperatures that they need to stay within. If you are able to stay within, we let you to chose which disc to use’.