After tearing our eyes away from our thousands of photos to tell you about this or that technical novelty in our “Spy Attitude” section, it is satisfying to note that, sometimes, the manufacturer itself comes to shed its precise light on the subject.
This is the case with Brembo which sheds its precise light on the thumb brake used by Valentino Rossi in Aragon.
Here is our translation…
Valentino Rossi as Doohan: to compensate for less functionality of the leg, Rossi used the technical solution first tested by the Australian
New feat from Valentino Rossi which enriches his legend with a final chapter: 23 days after fracturing his tibia and fibula, and the surgery that followed, he placed on the front row of the Aragon Grand Prix and finished the race in fifth place, after holding second position for 11 laps.
A result unimaginable only a few days ago and made possible only by his immense talent, but also by a special Brembo brake solution provided to the Doctor to take into account the difficulties due to a not 100% straight leg.
In Aragon, among the Brembo components made available to the Doctor, in addition to the carbon discs and Brembo calipers, there was also the thumb brake control also made by Brembo.
A solution that allows you to control the rear brake without using the pedal controlled by the right leg, but simply by using a small lever operated by the thumb under the commodo.
Valentino had already tried the Brembo thumb brake during post-race testing in Brno.
The configuration tested was the "standard" configuration, with the thumb control and the pedal connected to the usual rear caliper: in this case it is impossible to operate the rear brake simultaneously with the thumb and the pedal, but only with one of the two.
However, after his injury, Valentino preferred a solution with two separate circuits so that they could be operated at the same time by thumb and pedal, a modification that Brembo technicians prepared in record time with a new custom-made rear caliper to meet this requirement.
The rear thumb brake solution is by no means new in today's MotoGP. This solution is adopted with varying degrees of continuity, also on the other Yamaha of Maverick Viñales, and on the Ducati of Andrea Dovizioso, Jorge Lorenzo and Danilo Petrucci.
The style of using the Brembo thumb brake only changes slightly from rider to rider, as they all use it, either to slow the bike when entering a curve, or to balance it during acceleration, avoiding thus the skating in the turn. In practice, the thumb brake acts as a sort of traction control: it is activated from the center of the turn to manage to stay close to the point of the apex, and to be able to straighten the motorcycle more quickly.
In addition, in right turns, it is easier to use it at maximum lean for drivers with large feet, because there is no risk of the right boot coming into contact with the asphalt.
With, as a bonus, a detailed photo of the master cylinder operated by the thumb... of a model undoubtedly available to the simple enthusiast!
Brembo also released a photo of what appears to be a prototype visibly used during the Jorge Lorenzo era.
For the model used by Valentino Rossi in Aragon, see our article here.
