Brutal Austrian MotoGP braking load revealed by Brembo

This weekend’s Austrian Grand Prix will be only the second event of the 2025 season, after Buriram, that Brembo rates at a maximum 6/6 on its braking difficulty scale.

The 4.348 km, 11-turn Red Bull Ring contains five heavy braking zones and three more of medium demand.

According to Brembo, which supplies braking systems to the entire MotoGP grid, riders are on the brakes for almost 29 seconds per lap, or roughly one-third of the race distance.

Over a 28-lap grand prix, that also amounts to a cumulative load of 1.1 tonnes applied to the front brake lever.

The most demanding braking point is Turn 4, where riders decelerate from 301 km/h to 81 km/h in just 5.2 seconds over 246 metres, applying 5.3 kg of force to the brake lever.

Deceleration peaks at 1.5G, brake fluid pressure reaches 11.3 bar, and carbon disc temperatures climb to around 630°C. As such, use of the largest 355mm front discs is now mandatory in Austria.

Since the circuit’s return to the MotoGP calendar in 2016, Ducati has won 11 of the 13 races, including Sprints.

That tally includes three victories for Andrea Dovizioso, who claimed his final MotoGP win at the venue in 2020.

With 16 years and 120 days between his first and last premier-class wins, Dovizioso holds the third-longest winning span in MotoGP history, behind Valentino Rossi and Loris Capirossi.

In braking terms, the Italian - who retired after Misano 2022 and now works with Yamaha - also made a notable impact by reintroducing the Brembo rear thumb brake.

Dovizioso wanted the thumb brake for right-handers, where he was struggling to operate the conventional foot brake at maximum lean angles.

With lean angles continuing to increase in MotoGP, more riders have since adopted the thumb brake option.