Mugello’s first corner is both spectacular and daunting – as demonstrated yesterday by Ducati wild card Michele Pirro’s lucky escape from a top-speed accident. It also yields possibly reluctant bragging rights, from Brembo’s annual publication of “The Last of the Late Brakers” chart.
Culled from team data, the list ranks riders for both skill and bravery, as they slow from more than 350 km/h to 90 for the first corner. The carbon discs reach temperatures of 700°C in a distance of 288 metres, Brembo said.
For once, Ducati’s Andrea Dovizioso (who on Friday set a new top speed record of 356.4 km/h.
Marc Marquez won, in spite of his own assertion (after Pirro’s crash) that “since I crashed there in 2013, I always manage the risk”.
Then came Iannone, Rossi, Petrucci and in fifth place Aleix Espargaro.
Footnote: Data explained Pirro’s crash as the consequence of a big front-end wobble over the hump preceding the braking zone, which spread the brake pads. When he first braked, Ducati revealed, the lever had come back to the bars. He grabbed a second handful, which locked the front.
By Michael Scott
