Brembo maps Estoril’s braking challenge

A high-demand circuit

According to Brembo engineers, Estoril rates four out of five on the company’s braking difficulty index. Riders brake for a combined 26 seconds across nine corners.

The circuit has four braking sections classified as high stress, including consecutive zones at Turns 6 and 7. Two are rated medium and three low. Brembo works with 13 of the 14 teams on the WorldSBK grid, the preview reported.

The hardest stop comes at Turn 1

Brembo identified the opening corner as Estoril’s toughest braking point. After the 985-metre start-finish straight, the bikes slow from 310 km/h to 84 km/h in 4.9 seconds, covering 249 metres.

The data supplied by Brembo puts the brake-lever load at 5.6 kilograms and deceleration at 1.5 g. Brake-fluid pressure reaches 12 bar.

Bulega and Debise favour the final corner

The preview also described the approach to Turn 13, the long right-hand Parabolica Ayrton Senna, after the tight Turns 9 and 10 and the right-hand Turn 11. Turn 12 leads onto the final corner and the start-finish straight.

Nicolo Bulega of Aruba.it Racing – Ducati and Valentin Debise of EASTROC ZXMOTO Factory Evan Bros Racing both named Turn 13 as a favourite. WorldSBK reported that Bulega, the 2026 champion, had won a close WorldSBK finish at Estoril in 2024 after a strong final sector.

Debise, who rides the ZXMOTO 820 RR in WorldSSP, won at Estoril the season after his first victory in the class. He recalled the rear tyre smoking as he exited the final corner during that win.