Last season Brembo judged Red Bull Ring to be one of four MotoGP circuits that placed extreme demands on its brakes, along with Twin Ring Motegi, Sepang and Barcelona.
Not any more. “After the last two weekends I can say Red Bull Ring is now the worst circuit for brakes, even more than Motegi,” says Andrea Pellegrini, MotoGP engineer at Brembo, which supplies the entire grid, because no other company has been able to match the Italian firm’s braking performance.
But how come the slowest bike on the grid – Yamaha’s YZR-M1 – had the biggest braking problems?
Simple. Riders with faster bikes have more speed to scrub off when they hit the brakes, but because they know they enjoy an advantage on the straight they can brake in a calmer, more controlled way. Riders aboard slower bikes are desperate to make up for time lost on the straight, so they are very aggressive on the brakes, asking more of the braking system.
That’s why Maverick Viñales had to abandon ship when he ran out of brakes on Sunday, causing the fiery Turn One accident that brought out the red flags. It’s also why championship leader Fabio Quartararo struggled with brake problems throughout his time at Red Bull Ring, MotoGP’s fastest track. Both were braking so hard to compensate for the YZR-M1’s lack of straight-line speed that their braking systems couldn’t cope.
Inevitably their problems were magnified in race conditions: the extra urgency of racing, multiple consecutive laps on the limit, while often drafting other riders, which restricts the flow of cooling air. Once carbon brakes get far beyond their maximum operating temperature – around 1000 degrees Celsius – the carbon oxidises, disc and pad wear increase dramatically and, finally, the material disintegrates. Hence Viñales had no pads when he braked for Turn One on lap 17.
“Suddenly the brakes went – the pads went away. I understood very well that the brakes were gone, so I decided to jump.”
“This is something I’ve never had in my career,” said the Spaniard after the race. “The bike felt fantastic in the first laps – but no top speed – then I started to lose front-brake pressure. I ran off the track once, made three slow laps, then pushed again, then I lost pressure again. Then the brakes came good again, so I was recovering time, then suddenly the brakes went – the pads went away. I understood very well that the brakes were gone, so I decided to jump.”
But why did Quartararo and Viñales have much bigger problems than anyone else? Because it seems Yamaha made some serious mistakes with their brake set-ups at Red Bull Ring, choosing combinations that would’ve been more suitable for circuits where braking is less of an issue.
In fact all riders had a difficult time with brakes at Red Bull Ring – no surprise if the track asks more from braking systems than any other MotoGP venue – but they managed to stay on the right side of critical.
“We are really on the limit, like everybody,” said Ducati’s Andrea Dovizioso, winner of the previous weekend’s Austrian GP. “It’s a bit more than in the past, because there’s always a small step forward in the bikes, so we are braking harder and harder.”
Brembo believes there are two main reasons for increased demands on brakes this year: better aero and Michelin’s 2020 rear tyre.
“The aero of the bike gives more downforce when riders brake, so they can brake harder,” adds Pellegrini. “Also the new rear tyre has more grip, so it pushes the front into corners, so riders have to use the front brake more.”
All teams have the same variety of Brembo specs available, according to track layout and conditions. There are four different front discs available: 320mm standard and high mass, plus 340mm standard and high mass. And there are three different types of caliper: the 2020 GP4 caliper and two variants of the 2019 caliper, in standard and heavy-duty, the latter equipped with slightly larger pads for more power and better heat dissipation.
All riders used high-mass 340mm discs at Red Bull Ring and nearly all the front runners chose either the heavy-duty 2019 caliper or the 2020 caliper, which is finned to increase heat dissipation and has less fluid to improve consistency and reduce sponginess at the lever.
The Link LonkAugust 24, 2020 at 07:52PM
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Yamaha's Red Bull Ring braking disaster explained - Motor Sport
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