Max Symonds uses EBC Brakes Racing’s GPFAX pads and X-Series floating discs
Wiltshire-based motorcycle racer, Max Symonds, competes in British Superbike’s National Superstock category on his Yamaha R1. The rider also won Castle Combe Circuit’s coveted NG Road Racing ‘King of Combe’ race in 2023.
Symonds entrusts EBC Brakes Racing’s GPFAX pads and X-Series floating discs for the 2024 season.
Showing increasing promise as the year goes on, Symonds most recently found himself at Silverstone Circuit for a very special round of the BSB, run on the same weekend as the international MotoGP series.
Read how he got on in his team’s own words below…
“Back in October 2023, the provisional 2024 British Superbike Calendar was announced and there was something unusual on the National Superstock lineup… two races at Silverstone during the MotoGP weekend!
“MotoGP is the highest class of motorcycle racing or road/tarmac circuits, with event attendances totalling anywhere between 80,000-300,000 people and more than 200 countries receiving the live TV broadcast. To be part of their only UK round was a massive opportunity and a massive challenge at the same time having never raced the full Silverstone GP Circuit.
“Silverstone GP Circuit is 3.6 miles long and has a mix of everything. High speed sweeping corners like Woodcote and Farm, tight heavy braking corners like the Club Chicane, Village, and The Loop, and fast left/right combination sections like the Maggots, Becketts, Chapel complex. To be fast and competitive at his circuit both bike and rider need to be working well in all areas.”
“This was not made easy by the weekend’s schedule with just one 30-minute practice on Friday to get the bike set up ahead of qualifying and race 1 on Saturday. Hear how this went from Max in his own words.”
“‘Having to learn a 2+ minute lap on the Friday of MotoGP race weekend with big crowds and all the all the world championship teams and riders watching on was a daunting process. The practice session started with nearly the whole field of 50 riders eager to get out on track at the same time. There were massive groups for the first few laps as everyone was trying to work out where to go on this massive circuit. All of a sudden, halfway through the session, riders found their lines and the pace suddenly increased massively and the pack split up. I spent the rest of my session getting my head down and going faster every lap. After quick pit stop near the end of the session for a new tyre and back out for the last couple flying laps and I ended up with a 2:12.4 lap time.
“I was able to build on this pace throughout Saturday, getting down to a 2:11.3 in Qualifying and a 2:10.4 in the race. The race was pretty hectic, with a big group pack for the first half of the race; my strongest point was the fast Farm corner running into the tight Village hairpin and this was where I made most of my overtakes in the race, making the most of the EBC braking power!
“Having been able to go a second faster in every session of the weekend, I was looking forward to the second race on Sunday. This was our only time on track all day and after having to wait around for a long time whilst the main MotoGP races were happening, we got ready for our race a 4pm. Disaster struck as when the bike was to be warmed up, a sensor failure meant it would not start. A hectic hour of trying to fix the issue followed. The team managed to get the bike running but the issue wasn’t fully resolved and as a result the bike struggled to shift gear for the whole race. This meant that every time I made an overtake, I would lose the position back on the straight. I fought as best as I could but only ended up with a 24th-place finish in the race which was very frustrating given the potential we had.
“Overall, it was still an amazing experience to race in the MotoGP paddock and on the full Silverstone circuit for the first time… hopefully, I will get the opportunity to do it again someday.’”
GPFAX Pads
EBC’s GPFAX Sintered Race Brake Pads are for RACE ONLY use. This is a blend of brake pad that has higher friction and far better grip than any other brake product on the market.
X-Series Floating Discs
Since their introduction, EBC’s ultra-lightweight floating motorcycle rotors have become one of the worlds best selling lightest and best performing discs available for all modern sport bikes.
