FIVE
QUESTIONS
WITH ZF
Q 2 2 0 2 5
BREMBO’S 50-YEAR LEGACY
M A G A Z I N E
BRAKING BARRIERS IN MOTORSPORTS
H O W T O S T O P
H Y U N D A I ’ S I O N I Q 5 N
Covering the brake industry since 2012
w w w . t h e b r a k e r e p o r t . c o m
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
MIKE GEYLIN
PUBLISHER
BRIAN HAGMAN
What’s Inside
10
BREMBO
Brembo’s 50-Year Legacy: Braking
Barriers in Motorsports
22
HYUNDAI
How To Stop Hyundai’s IONIQ 5 N
32
ZF AFTERMARKET
Five Questions
42
NUADI GROUP
Nuadi’s Success Based on Brake
Expertise, Adaptabilty
54
DFC FRICTION
Ultra-Premium Label Suits DFC Nicely
61
INDUSTRY PARTNERS
Companies Supporting Our Mission
06
Celebrating a Champion While the
Industry Lives Under a Cloud
FROM THE EDITOR
The year got off to a rocky start for all
members of the global economy
including those of us in the brake world.
Talks of tariffs and trade wars has led to
some uncertainty, but for the
companies examined in this edition of
The BRAKE Report Magazine, the overall
picture is positive.
For at least one heralded member of
the global brake fraternity, 2025 is a
golden year for one of the heralded
members of our world – Brembo. The
Italian icon celebrates its 50th
anniversary in motorsports, an area in
which it is safe to say it has been the
provider of stopping power, whether the
competition was amongst four or two-
wheeled vehicles. Throughout those five
decades, Brembo-equipped teams have
brought home more victories and
championships than any other brand.
Speaking of slowing down a racetrack
vehicle, our latest installment in “How to
Stop . . . “ looks at the unique braking
system Hyundai designed for its hyper-
performance Ioniq 5 N. The (maximum) 641
horsepower SUV is both the most powerful
EV the Korean automaker has ever
produced and the most powerful street-
legal (though designed to be at home on a
From the
Editor
Celebrating a Champion While the
Industry Lives Under a Cloud
track) one, as well. The engineers made regenerative braking the primary mode and
the article explores just how they bring this machine to a halt whether on a
racecourse, mountain road or in the mall parking lot.
This quarter we are launching another continuing TBRM series -- “5 Questions for . . . “ -
- in which we pose said number of queries to a prominent or historical figure within the
braking universe. This issue we wanted to find out what the newly appointed head of
ZF’s North American aftermarket business, Chris Battershell, had on his mind his new
role. His answers, including an opinion on the tariff situation, provides interesting
reading.
The other two pieces look at companies operating globally.
Based in Spain, Nuadi produces its backing plates, electronic components and other
brake parts in Europe, Mexico and Asia. The diversity of supply gives the company
some flexibility when it comes to dealing with tariffs and their offshoots, but
uncertainty is a dominant condition. Despite the global uncertainty a potential trade
war brings, CEO Jose Ciordia remains very optimistic.
Optimism also comes from Dan Biezonsky, DFC’s Executive Vice President – Sales, who
says customer service is the cornerstone of the California-based firm’s continued
success and growth. And understanding the customer is easy because DFC,
according to Biezonsky, is a company made up of car people. The ultra-premium
brake component company sources its products in Asia, but in countries other than
China (the primary target for America’s tariff actions) and they are carefully
monitoring global trade actions to move where it makes the most sense. Success has
provided the impetus for DFC to recently move into a new 300,000-squre-foot
headquarters facility in Southern California.
Mike Geylin
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
T h e l e a d i n g f o r u m f o r a d v a n c e m e n t s i n b r a k e s y s t e m s
a n d f r i c t i o n m a t e r i a l s i n N o r t h A m e r i c a
sae.org/brake
S e p t e m b e r 2 1 – 2 4 , 2 0 2 5 | G r a n d R a p i d s , M i c h i g a n
T o m a x i m i z e y o u r b o o t h p r e s e n c e w i t h a t t e n d e e s a t t h e B r a k e C o l l o q u i u m
p l e a s e c o n s i d e r p r o v i d i n g a t e c h n i c a l m a n u s c r i p t o f p r e s e n t a t i o n t h a t
w i l l a d v a n c e t h e e n g i n e e r i n g c o m m u n i t y ’ s u n d e r s t a n d i n g o f a c r i t i c a l b r a k e
t e c h n o l o g i c a l i s s u e s s u c h a s f r i c t i o n , A I , N V H , o r T e s t i n g .
Exhibit. Sponsor. Speak.
Brake Colloquium & Exhibition
BY MIKE GEYLIN
IMAGES COURTESY OF BREMBO
Brembo’s 50-Year
Legacy: Braking Barriers
in Motorsports
Brembo entered motorsports in 1975 by supplying Scuderia Ferrari with cast-iron rotors
for its F1 car. During its five decades of motorsports participation, the Italian stalwart
has arguably been the preeminent provider of competition braking components and
most successful, as well. To mark the 50th anniversary of Brembo’s motorsports
participation, The BRAKE Report provided a series of questions about the adventure.
Here are the queries and the responses.
The BRAKE Report: Why did Brembo get involved in motorsports at the time?
Brembo first entered motorsport out of a passion for racing and the desire to enter a
fundamental and strategic business sector to invest in research and development.
Furthermore, whoever entered motorsport had access to a vast media showcase.
Entering motorsport is difficult—you need skills, strategy and vision. Once you have the
keys to access this Olympus, the pressure increases and you cannot afford to make
mistakes because often, it is not the one who goes fastest who wins, but the one who
brakes best.
TBR: Why did they provide brakes for the Ferrari Formula 1 team?
It all started with a meeting between Alberto Bombassei, now Brembo's Emeritus
Chairman, and Enzo Ferrari. Bombassei, who had been always a Formula 1 enthusiast,
dreamed of being able to supply brake discs to the Maranello team, and in the mid-
70s Brembo was the only Italian company that produced disc brakes for cars. There
was a meeting between the two entrepreneurs, the meeting went well (as did the tests
on track) and Brembo began supplying brake discs to Scuderia Ferrari in 1975.
TBR: What led Brembo to branching out to provide braking components for
motorcycles?
At the beginning of the 70s, Brembo supplied the first calipers for the Laverda and
Guzzi road bikes. As it’s often said, "appetite comes with eating…" Why settle for
supplying road bikes when there are bikes built to race on the track at extreme
speeds? Just one year after entering Formula 1 in 1975, Brembo entered the 500cc
class by supplying the first braking system to the Suzuki Gallina Team. Just two years
later in 1978, the team won its first race, in Germany. From the earliest days in racing,
Brembo had the ambition to not be satisfied but to always seek new challenges.
It all started with a
meeting between
Alberto Bombassei,
now Brembo's
Emeritus Chairman,
and Enzo Ferrari.
Bombassei, who had
been always a
Formula 1 enthusiast,
dreamed of being
able to supply brake
discs to the
Maranello team, and
in the mid-70s Brembo
was the only Italian
company that
produced disc brakes
for cars.
TBR: How many different race categories has Brembo participated in during the past
50 years?
It's extremely difficult to put a number on how many race series Brembo has been a
part of over the past 50 years. Today, Brembo Group, which also includes the brands
Marchesini (wheels) Öhlins (suspensions) and AP Racing (braking systems and
clutches) supplies to over 100 Motorsport championships, all the main international
Motorsport categories, on 2 and 4 wheels. To name some of Brembo’s key series:
Formula 1, Formula E, Nascar, IMSA, WEC, Formula 2, Formula 3, GT World Challenge,
WRC, Super Formula TCR, Dakar, MotoGP, Moto 2, Moto3, MotoE, Motocross, WSBK,
Supersport, Rookies Cup, EWC, Moto America, BSB, Trial, ELMS, Indycar, Rally Raid, Isle of
Man TT, CIV, Touring Car and the list goes on!
TBR: How many championships have teams earned with Brembo braking
components on their vehicles? In how many different classes?
In 50 years of racing, Brembo has surpassed 700 championship titles across dozens of
championships, including the series listed above.
TBR: Who was the most successful driver/rider utilizing Brembo components? Which
was the most successful team utilizing Brembo components?
Firstly, Brembo today has become an international solution provider in motorsport
thanks to the support and collaboration of all the teams and drivers the company has
worked with over the past 50 years. Each of them has contributed to Brembo’s ability
to bring innovation and experience to its racing products. Brembo’s commitment to
each team it partners with and supply parts to is an honor and privilege.
It is difficult to identify which team Brembo has won the most races and the most
world championships as a supplier of braking systems, as some series are customer
choice and some are spec. In Formula 1, Brembo has seen the most success with
Scuderia Ferrari with 191 race wins, the first in 1975 at the Monaco GP with Niki Lauda. In
top level motorcycle racing, the team that has won the most races with Brembo
brakes is Honda with 256 races, the first in 1990 with Michael Doohan on the
Hungaroring circuit.
TBR: Why does the company pursue and acquire other brands which participate in
motorsports?
For 50 years, teams have trusted their braking systems—perhaps the most important
device that provides both performance and safety—with Brembo. Brembo’s expertise
is in braking, so diversifying the companies within Brembo Group to include
companies with the same reputation in complimentary sectors, like Marchesini wheels,
Öhlins suspension and AP Racing brakes and clutches, has been a natural progression
for its racing journey.
TBR: Is it a profitable/solid-business venture or pursued for other reasons?
For Brembo, motorsport today represents a very important laboratory in which to test
the main innovations with teams and drivers. Racing bridges the gap between track
where innovation trickles down to the end consumer. But not only that, motorsport still
represents an important and strategic media showcase at the intersection of
automotive/moto industry and sport.
TBR: What has Brembo learned from its motorsports participation which has
benefited its consumer products and customers?
Motorsport allows Brembo to test products and technologies in the most demanding
conditions. Monobloc calipers, perhaps Brembo’s most signature product, originated
in motorsport. The use of carbon in braking systems came from racing. And the
lessons of lightweighting, durability and reliability are as applicable in racing as they
are in road use.
Crucially, the importance of safety holds true across racing and the road, in brakes
and otherwise. Whether a vehicle is hard on the brakes to overtake in a key corner or a
driver is stopping for an unexpected road hazard on their way to work, the brakes must
respond predictably, reliably and powerfully. Consider how anti-lock braking system
originated in racing and is now an important safety feature in almost every new car
and many bikes. Now, Brembo is taking braking to the next level with Sensify, its
intelligent braking system.
TBR: How does the evolution to electrification, even at the motorsports level, impact
Brembo’s participation in racing?
No matter the powertrain, a vehicle needs brakes. That’s true on the road and true on
the track, now and in the future. Brembo supplies braking systems to Formula E and
MotoE, making us an early leader in electric race series.
TBR: What is the future of Brembo in motorsports and how does the company see
motorsports evolving in the near and far future? Is it still a viable sport going
forward?
Brembo is lucky to celebrate 50 years in racing during a truly golden era of motorsport.
Formula 1 popularity is at an all-time high. IMSA has more manufacturer support than
ever. Le Mans is seeing a successful and popular Hypercar class. MotoGP racing has
seen impressive growth in the past few seasons. No matter the series, racing is seeing
soaring popularity and fanbase growth in a crucial sector- young people.
There is no doubt the future of motorsport is bright, and given Brembo’s past 50 years
in racing, Brembo is confident the next 50 and beyond will be even better.
TBR: What are the most important, most exciting and most significant occurrences
during Brembo’s 50 years of motorsports?
Brembo has been a part of so many exciting and significant wins, both for Brembo and
the teams that use its parts. The start of Brembo’s motorsport journey with Ferrari in
1975 and helping the Scuderia win its first championship since 1964 will always remain
a highlight, but there were other exciting moments too. 1989 marked Brembo’s first of
many Le Mans wins, while in 2001, the Audi R8 won without replacing its Brembo brake
system’s pads or discs. Meanwhile on two wheels, Brembo won its first motorcycle
race with Suzuki-Gallina in 1978. With numerous advances in performance and safety,
like the thumb operated rear brake in 1992, Brembo has gone on to become a
dominant force in motorcycle racing, winning every 500cc race from 1995-2001 and
every MotoGP race since the series was introduced in 2002. Today, every team in
MotoGP and Formula 1 uses a Brembo or Brembo Group caliper.
BY MIKE GEYLIN
IMAGES COURTESY HYUNDAI
How To Stop Hyundai’s
IONIQ 5 N
This is the second installment in the continuously running The BRAKE Report Magazine
series “How to Stop” in which we will take a look at the systems designed to brake
some unique products. We initiated the series with a feature on the brake system of
the Ford F-150 Lightning battery-electric full-size pickup. This issue we examine the
unique brake system which was part of the design/development of the hyper-
performing Hyundai Ioniq 5 N sport utility vehicle, a vehicle where the emphasis was
on sport.
A motor vehicle dubbed high performance generally brings an above average
amount of horsepower. In the case of the battery-electric IONIQ 5 N, the EV’s maximum
641 horsepower (478 kW and 568 pounds-feet of torque) makes it the most powerful
street-legal vehicle Hyundai has ever offered.
When the company’s engineers set out to produce the company’s most powerful
vehicle, they realized going fast was easy – just install more powerful motors (there
are two in the all-wheel-drive N). But going fast in a controlled manner, whether on a
closed circuit or public streets, meant producing a sophisticated platform with an up-
to-the-task platform which included a state-of-the-art bespoke braking system.
The IONIQ 5 N’s architecture provided the Hyundai engineering team a unique way to
bring the super EV to a stop: a combination of regenerative braking – turning the
engine into a generator, thus both slowing the five-passenger SUV or crossover utility
(CUV) and replenishing the battery – along with a more traditional friction system. In
the case of the IONIQ 5 N, both braking methods -- which function in conjunction with
each other and really must be considered a single system -- are considerably
modified when compared to the non-N version of the brand’s best-selling EV.
As explained to The BRAKE Report Magazine, “The IONIQ 5 N is designed and built as a
part of a range of award-winning E-GMP [Hyundai’s global electric-vehicle platform]
EVs featuring class-leading technology. The success of these vehicles gave
confidence for the development of a high-performance N variant, and we were able to
continue to challenge the project for improved results.
“On the other hand, we have met a tremendous mission to develop a brake system
that can withstand the Nürburgring Nordschleife [challenging 12.9-mile race circuit in
Germany used by auto makers to develop and prove the capabilities of their vehicles]
for two laps or more with an electric vehicle weighing more than two tons.
“We quickly realized that this cannot be solved only by physical brakes and developed
for following. ① Additional brake cooling, ② brake rotor design optimized for cooling, ③
maximum regenerative braking. The result is a new kind of braking system that
elevates Hyundai’s technical development capabilities in this area.”
The physical components of the hydraulic IONIQ 5 N system include vented four-wheel
discs measuring 15.7x1.3 inches up front and 14.2x0.8 in the rear (as compared to
13.6x1.2 and 13.6x0.8 for the standard IONIQ 5). The N also features four-piston,
monobloc front calipers and a brake-cooling system comprised of dedicated airflow
paths for the brake components.
We quickly realized
that this cannot be
solved only by
physical brakes and
developed for
following:
Additional brake
cooling
brake rotor design
optimized for
cooling
maximum
regenerative
braking
The result is a new
kind of braking
system that elevates
Hyundai’s technical
development
capabilities in this
area.
Hyundai says the brake components are made with new lightweight materials but will
not specify exactly what they are.
The company emphasizes light weight, heat dissipation and responsiveness when
discussing the IONIQ 5 N as it indicates the models need to perform on the world’s
public thoroughfares as well as on closed courses – racetracks.
The company representatives point out this goal of producing an EV suitable for track
activities, engineered for both endurance competition and sprint ones, was a
significant reason the brake systems developed for the IONIQ 5 N and its similar (600+
horsepower) Kia EV6 GT sibling are similar but not identical (according to Hyundai, the
Kia version did not have a race-capable goal).
Unlike some other automakers which would have saved both development and
development-procurement dollars (or, more specifically, South Korean Won) by using
common components for common roles, the Hyundai-family brands went their
separate ways to realize their specific goals. This is a major reason the two hyper
performers use different brake components. The Kia EV6 GT, for example, has 15.0x1.3-
inch front rotors compared to the Hyundai’s 15.7x1.3.
But the hydraulic or friction brakes are just one element of the IONIQ 5 N’s overall
braking system. The engineers behind the electric performance machine integrated
virtually all of the dynamic components through advanced electronic controls to
produce a modern, easy-to-drive-fast vehicle. The braking system is one of these
integrated components, blending the hydraulic with regenerative braking for smooth
results regardless of challenges. Hyundai named the system N Brake Regen. The N
Brake Regen stipulates regenerative braking as the primary braking methodology for
the IONIQ 5 N while the mechanical brakes are used to supplement with additional
braking force when required, ensuring enhanced endurance on the track (and street)
and exceptional power regeneration.
Performance, rather than efficiency, is the primary task of the regen system in the N
model.
In simple terms, the engineers said, “IONIQ 5 N’s braking can be simplified in three
steps. First, regen braking will engage without hydraulic brakes up to 0.6G and at the
same time recuperating energy at over 400kW. Beyond 0.6G, the hydraulic brakes
engage alongside regen braking for maximum performance. Finally, during ABS
activation, regen braking continues to provide about 0.35G of braking force.”
This action, according to Hyundai, produces a “seamless blending between the N
Brake Regen and hydraulic brakes creating a smooth transition, imperceptible to the
driver. Moreover, performance-oriented left-foot braking allows the brake and
accelerator pedal to be applied simultaneously on the track.”
Brake fade is minimized by the N Brake Regen system “by maximizing the regenerative
braking power strategy, resulting in lower brake force and wear applied to the friction-
based mechanical brakes.”
While this is of paramount performance on a racetrack, especially one with as many
tight turns as the Nürburgring Nordschleife, it also can pay dividends on the street
when situations like coming down a long, fast, winding mountain road can put
exceptional strain on a vehicle’s friction brakes.
Everything about the IONIQ 5 N’s engineering, design and development went into
turning the company’s best-selling EV from an efficient, solid-performing road sport-
utility to a high performer which could be driven to a racetrack on public roads and
then compete on the closed course.
The brake system built around N Brake Regen and the most powerful hydraulic system
the company has ever produced, fit neatly within the N’s parameters.
IONIQ 5 N represents N brand’s electrification vision and a fresh opportunity for
performance enthusiasts to satisfy their driving passion on the road and track.
As José Muñoz, president and CEO, Hyundai Motor North America, said during the N’s
introductory press conference, “N brand technology and motorsport success proves
Hyundai’s ability to push the envelope of vehicle performance and IONIQ 5 N
represents a bold move forward in the level of electrified performance. We are
confident that both current Hyundai customers and new buyers will be impressed with
the exceptional performance and technology of our new IONIQ 5 N.”
Five Questions: ZF
Chris Battershell, Vice President
Aftermarket Region North America
BY MIKE GEYLIN
IMAGES COURTESY OF ZF