Disc brake pad

In a disc brake pad assembly including a carrier body and a friction element affixed to the carrier body and having a work face for cooperation with a brake disc which has a major direction of rotation and a rotary axis;

• said friction element having a leading side and a trailing side with respect to said major direction of rotation;
• said carrier body having two oppositely located narrow sides spaced from one another in a circumferential direction of the brake disc;
• the improvement wherein said carrier body is hard porcelain;
• the improvement further comprising means defining a plurality of blind recesses provided in said friction element and being open solely towards said work face;
• said recesses being grouped such as to occupy solely zones adjacent said leading and trailing sides of said friction element and the recesses arranged in the zone adjacent said leading side being situated at a greater distance from said rotary axis than the recesses arranged in the zone adjacent said trailing side;
• and a protective covering attached to said carrier body and extending over a rear face of said carrier body oriented away from said friction element;
• said protective covering further extending over at least one part of said narrow sides of said carrier body.