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may 10, 2018 - Brembo Racing

Brembo Unveils Round 5 of World Superbike at Imola


An in-depth look at the braking systems on the production-based motorcycles at the Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari


The fifth round of the World Superbike Championship is scheduled for May 11-13 at the Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari in Imola, located in the province of Bologna.

Completed in 1952, the Autodromo was tested by Umberto Masetti (two-time world champion in the 500cc class) and Enrico Lorenzetti (world title holder in the 250cc class). Fifteen years later it hosted its first World Championship race, but it wasn't until the 200 Miglia di Imola was launched in 1972 that the track attained universal fame.

The circuit is very technical and includes truly challenging braking sections of every type possible. It's not a coincidence that Enzo Ferrari called the circuit that bears his and his son Dino’s names a "little Nurburgring". The track is made up of 22 corners, 13 of which are to the left, a very short straightaway at the arrival (358 meters), and slopes that reach 7.8%.

According to #brembo technicians, who work closely with 16 World Superbike riders, the Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari is a highly demanding circuit for the brakes. On a scale of 1 to 5, it earned a 5 on the difficulty index, exactly the same score given to the tracks at Donington and Chang.


The demand on the brakes during the GP

The Superbikes use their brakes 12 times per lap, a value surpassed only by Losail, but that track is 450 meters longer. In Bahrain the riders use their brakes for 31.5 seconds per lap, while at Imola they use them for more than 32 seconds, the record for the 2017 World Championship. Overall, the riders apply the brakes for 30% of the entire duration of the race.

Since the corners are taken in first, second, third and fourth gear, the average peak deceleration per lap is not very high. Regardless, the 1.14 G exerted by the production-based motorcycles using steel discs is still higher than that of the MotoGP bikes with carbon discs on the tracks in Jerez, Austin and Termas de Rio Hondo.

Summing up all the force applied by a rider on the brake lever from the starting line to the checkered flag, the total comes to more than 950 kg, which is the same weight as five Ducati 1299 Panigale S bikes in running order and equipped with #brembo EVO M50 monobloc calipers.


The most demanding braking sections

Of the 12 braking sections on the Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari track, two are classified as very demanding on the brakes, seven are of medium difficulty and three are light. 

The most difficult by far is the Tamburello Corner (turn 2) because the Superbikes arrive going 289 km\h and have a few short instants to drop down to 104 km\h by the end of the 188 meters braking section. The riders use their brakes for 4 seconds applying a 5.8 lb load on the brake lever, one of the heaviest in the entire World Championship. They experience a deceleration of 1.5 G, which is 0.38 G more than a Lamborghini Aventador braking from 200 to 0 km\h.

The brakes also undergo a great deal of stress at the Alta Corner (turn 14): the Superbikes go from 235 km\h to 91 km\h traveling 141 meters in 3.2 seconds. The pressure of the #brembo fluid in the braking system reaches 11.3 bar, which is almost four times the pressure in a bottle of sparkling wine.ì

The Tosa (turn 7) on the other hand, is the corner taken at the lowest speed: 70 km\h, after decelerating from 123 km\h over 114 meters in 3.4 seconds.

Brembo performance

Bikes with #brembo brakes have won the last six World Superbike races contested at the Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari. In 2015, Jonathan Rea took the victory with Kawasaki, in 2016 and last year Chaz Davies came in first with Ducati. In fact, it was Ducati that won the first World Superbike race at Imola in 2001 with Ruben Xaus, and #brembo brakes of course.

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