Sonoma is one of the most beautiful areas that IndyCar travels to each year with the permanent road course rolling through wine country. To start the lap drivers begin with a large elevation change, going uphill and around Turn 1. At the top of the hill the drivers will have a delicate braking zone into Turn 2. This is very tricky as the car becomes somewhat unloaded due to the elevation change, making the braking zone tough to judge.
Through Turn 2, the drivers will accelerate towards Turns 3 and 3a, a successive left-right combination that involves elevation changes and off-camber corners. The brakes are not used for Turns 3 or 3a as the drivers essentially float the cars through this very fast section. After cresting the hill in 3a, the drivers have a short run downhill to Turn 4, with a 100-degree right-hand corner. Braking is again very tricky here as the run up to the turn is downhill, making it tough to judge when to brake. Through Turn 4 the drivers accelerate though a slight bend (Turn 5) then approach the long, carousel of Turn 6, which can really take a toll on the drivers as the loads are sustained for over seven seconds of time.
Exiting onto a straight that heads towards Turn 7, the drivers approach the hardest braking zone on the track. In a matter of two seconds, drivers will decelerate by at least 100 mph, an excellent braking opportunity. The cars will struggle to get power down out of the slow hairpin to accelerate towards the rhythm section of Turn 8, a flowing set of esses on a good lap is completely flat. Through the esses, the drivers approach Turn 9 where aggressiveness pays off. The driver needs extreme pedal force to slow the car to an apex speed. On both the right- and left-hand side of the Turn 9 chicane are big curbs that the drivers will jump off in an effort to make time. These curbs abuse the car and driver, but executed correctly, the lap time is improved. Accelerating through Turn 10 and into the second hardest braking zone on the circuit, Turn 11, drivers will push the limits to make lap time and setup passes before the start-finish line.
Brembo has developed a dedicated IndyCar site within the official Brembo website. In addition to technical data relative to the braking points of each circuit, this dedicated section also offers race fans countless other fascinating facts about the braking systems created for IndyCar race cars. www.indycar.brembo.com.
The 2015 season marks the 40th Anniversary of Brembo’s first entry into motorsports. Brembo supplied its first racing brake system to Ferrari in 1975 in the Formula One World Championship. Since then, the Italian company has invested heavily in research and development of highly innovative and technological products.
About Brembo SpA
Brembo SpA is the world leader and acknowledged innovator of disc brake technology for automotive vehicles. Brembo supplies high performance brake systems for the most important manufacturers of cars, commercial vehicles and motorbikes worldwide. Brembo is also a leader in the racing sector and has won more than 300 championships. Today the company operates in 16 countries on 3 continents, with 24 production and business sites, and a pool of around 7,700 employees, about 10% of whom are engineers and product specialists active in the R&D. 2014 turnover is € 1,803.3 million (12/31/2014). Brembo is the owner of the Brembo, Breco, AP, Bybre and Marchesini brands and operates through the AP Racing brand. For more information, visit us at www.brembo.com