MotoGP returns to Europe to stay there until the end of the summer. To improve safety standards at the Circuito de Jerez Angel Nieto, the escape lanes of turns 1 and 5 have been widened by 40 and 25 meters respectively. Thanks to this work, the Andalusian circuit will remain on the calendar in 2024.
According to Brembo engineers, who work closely with 100% of the riders in the MotoGP world championship, the Circuito de Jerez Angel Nieto falls into the category of very demanding circuits for the brakes. On a scale of 1 to 6, it earned a difficulty rating of 4, the highest in the first five months of the season.
Two needs and two strokes of genius
In 1999, on this circuit, Valentino Rossi used Brembo brakes at a time when no one had ever used them. After winning the 250cc GP with four and a half seconds ahead of Tohru Ukawa, he sees the marshals' toilets on the side of the track. He stopped and, after leaning his Aprilia against a wall of tires, he went inside to relieve himself, or at least pretended to.
This bike used the Brembo radial caliper, a component that had debuted during testing at Jerez in February 1998 on the bike Marcellino Lucchi. It met the need for constant braking from the start to the end of the race. This solution has revolutionized not only racing, but also road use, because today a large part of large motorcycles use radial calipers.
A poker served
At the Circuito de Jerez Angel Nieto, MotoGP riders use their brakes in 10 of the 13 corners. Over a full lap, the braking system is active for a total of 31 seconds, which equates to just under a third of the total race time. Motorcycles are unlikely to reach 300 km/h, and this is also why there are no braking sections longer than 270 meters.
On the other hand, in turns 8 to 11, drivers must brake in four consecutive turns. If we add up all the forces exerted by a driver on the Brembo front brake lever from start to checkered flag, the value exceeds one ton, the second highest value on Iberian tracks after Valencia.
About 230 km/h lost in 5,6 seconds
Of the 10 braking sections of the Circuito de Jerez Angel Nieto, 2 are classified as demanding on the brakes, 5 are of medium difficulty, while the remaining 3 have a light impact on the braking systems.
The most complex braking section is at turn 6: aided by a 0,6 km straight, the drivers approach 300 km/h before braking for 5,6 seconds during which they experience a deceleration of 1,8. 72g. They enter a corner at XNUMX km/h as the end of the race and the end of the season approaches.
They enter a curve at 72 km/h after traveling 263 meters, exerting a maximum load of 6,8 kg on the brake lever.
