The Motegi circuit is the only track where 340mm carbon discs are mandatory, while the other tracks can make do with 320mm.
This is obviously not for nothing, and Brembo explains why.
The Japanese circuit is the most demanding of the season mainly because of the 4 corners taken in second after a straight; it is also classified 5 on a scale of up to 5, just like Sepang.
Its surface is also excellent, which provides good traction, therefore good acceleration, and therefore strong braking. MotoGP riders spend around 35 seconds per lap braking, i.e. 33% of the time, a record only matched by Jerez.
The succession of straight lines and slow turns that make it up can cause a disc cooling problem, but also another particularity; this is the only circuit of the season where riders change gears more than 1000 times during the MotoGP race !
Of the 14 curves on the Japanese route, 11 of them require the use of brakes, but it is turn #11 which is the most demanding, with braking taking MotoGP from 308 to 86 km/h in 5,2 seconds; all in 263 meters with a force reaching 7,6 kilos on the lever!
