For the third time this year, MotoGP returns to Spain, this time from September 22-24 at MotorLand Aragón for the 14th round of the 2017 World Championship.
Located on 350 hectares of land, the circuit was designed by German architect Hermann Tilke in collaboration with Spanish Formula 1 driver Pedro De La Rosa.
The track was inaugurated on September 6, 2009 and has hosted MotoGP since 2010, the year the Iberian Peninsula received a 4th round of the World Championship. The route measures 5.077 km and is characterized by two long straight lines which are just separated by a few bends. Superbikes race here too, but they are two or three seconds slower than MotoGP.
The route is considered quite technical and quite demanding for the brakes, since the first 2 kilometers offer 7 braking sections, making it difficult for the brakes to cool down. This close succession of braking sections in the first half of the route can cause some problems for the brakes. According to Brembo technicians, who help 100% of MotoGP riders in 2017, MotorLand Aragón is therefore considered demanding for the brakes. On a scale of 1 to 5, it is rated 4 on the difficulty index, exactly the same score given to the Jerez and Brno tracks.
During the GP, MotoGP riders use their brakes on 11 of the 17 corners, one more than Superbike riders. During a lap, MotoGP riders use their brakes for a total of 34 seconds, three seconds more than Superbike riders. The difference is due to the variation in speed reached by the two categories: the MotoGPs reach more than 340 km/h, while the motorcycles extrapolated from the production models go just over 300 km/h.
The force applied to the grip by MotoGP riders during a lap is 52 kg compared to 45 kg for Superbike riders.
Over the course of the 23 laps of the race, MotoGP riders use their brakes for 13 minutes, or 31% of the Grand Prix.
Of the circuit's 11 braking sections, two are considered very demanding on the brakes, four are of medium difficulty and five are light.
Turn #16 is the most demanding for the braking systems, as it is preceded by the 968 meters of the straight. The MotoGP riders go from 344 km/h to 139 km/h in 4.6 seconds while covering 284 meters. MotoGP riders apply a force of 8.1 kg to their lever, the record for the championship.
They also experience a slowdown of 1.5 G and the Brembo HTC 64T brake fluid pressure reaches 14 bars.
Braking for the first corner after the finish line is slightly less: 196 km/h, from 285 km/h to 89 km/h, but for a full 5 seconds, which is more time. To brake like this, riders need 245 meters and must apply a load of 6,6kg.
