The Superhuman Science Behind MotoGP Racers

This is the pinnacle of motorcycle racing, where machines generate over 300 horsepower weighing just 160 kilos and routinely exceed 220 miles an hour. This is MotoGP. But these engineering marvels aren't the most impressive part of the spectacle. It's the superhuman riders who control them. These athletes don't just ride motorcycles quickly. They push the boundaries of human capabilities in ways that science is still trying to fully understand, all while riding at hyper speeds Today, we're exploring five attributes that make MotoGP riders superhuman, which when combined, puts them among the most extraordinary athletes on the planet. And as a quick aside, I'll also be helping Insta360 launch a special new product, the Ace Pro 2 MM93 Edition. More on that later. Up first, their elite level fitness, strength, and agility. Watching on TV, they make it look easy. So much so that a friend of mine who follows F1 once made the comment that he felt riding a MotoGP bike would be easier than an F1 car. Now, this comment was nothing more than naivety, but it does speak to the point that many people don't realize how phenomenally fit these riders are. In fact, in Queensland, Australia, a scientific study was performed at the University of the Sunshine Coast, where Christopher Mullen was put through his paces to see how fit he really was. And after doing that, they said, we were unsure what the demands of MotoGP riding were. And these results tell us the demands are very high. Going on to say that, the test and the stunning results put Vermeulen on par with some of the world's fittest Olympic athletes. And that was 17 years ago. These days, the level is even higher as bikes become faster and subject riders to even greater forces. And as each rider tries to raise their level to stay at the front. And that fitness level needs to be high because a MotoGP race is a grueling test. Riders will spend 40 odd minutes near maximum heart rate as they deal with the forces and stresses put on them to get these machines around the lap as fast as possible. With some riders going as high as 200 beats per minute. Whether it's the extreme forces of braking on a MotoGP bike from over 220 miles an hour, the strength and stability needed to move while maintaining full control or the strain on the lower body and core as they maintain the extreme riding positions we now see. These riders do not get much rest. Through an intense training and nutrition routine, riders maintain an impressive balance of strength and stamina. And in a sport where every gram matters, they manage this while staying as light as possible. And riders are performing these feats wrapped in thick leather race suits, at times riding in temperatures over 30 degrees Celsius. And if a rider gets injured, there's no six month layoff like other sports. Every point matters. And history has shown many times the incredible resilience riders have to keep the fight going. Withstanding the physical test alone is impressive. And we've only just scratched the surface. Next is their unbelievable level of precision. They're wrestling 300 horsepower monsters, putting their bodies through an extreme workout for 40 minutes straight at speeds that would make most brains melt, all while dancing along the very edge of traction. But what might be the most impressive thing about that is how these riders can manage that strain while at the same time showing the poise and precision of a ballet dancer. From the accuracy of their bike placement around the lap, the timing of their actions to create the very fastest line through a corner, the deftness of touch and control to maximize grip potential, and the reaction times of the best athletes in the world, which helps them manage any sudden changes in their situation. When you consider the average race lap is around one minute 40, riders will display consistency within one or two tenths of a second per lap. What's even more impressive is how they can manage the pace when they want to. You'll often hear riders talk of managing the gap to the rider behind, where they may consciously knock a couple of tenths off their lap time so they're only riding as fast as they need to be. Again, consider just what these riders are dealing with over a lap on one of these machines. And throughout all of that, they're able to make fractional changes to what they're doing to make this much difference to their lap time. It's crazy. And one key component to precision is their vision. One remarkable study over multiple seasons researched how riders are using their eyes differently, or rather, how they're not using them. An average blink is about 0.15 seconds, which at the top speed seen in MotoGP, this would mean a rider is traveling 15 meters in that time. To deal with that, these riders have evolved to blink far less for maximum concentration. The study looked at LCR Honda riders over six seasons, recording just how much they blink throughout each race. Where a normal person might blink every four to six seconds, on average, MotoGP riders blink every three minutes during a race, with the longest recorded period between blinks being nine minutes. That's nearly five laps of Mugello without blinking, and all without any adverse effects to the eyes, I might add. Okay, so I'm sure your mind is already blown, but just quickly before we get to the next point, I have to show you what Insta360, who are sponsoring this video, have just released. To celebrate Mark Marquez becoming an Insta360 ambassador, they've just released the Ace Pro 2 MM93 edition. It has the same fantastic feature set as the standard Ace Pro 2, but with some really nice touches. You get this lovely custom box, and on opening, you're greeted with a pre-printed autograph card. Mine will be framed on the mantel next to my children. And under that, you've got a few extra accessories as part of this edition too. You get two batteries, a couple of adhesive mounts for the bike, a chin mount, a standard mount to use with it, and an SD card, among a few other bits. On the camera itself, there's some nice details, like the Mark Marquez on the body, the 93 on the wind guard, as well as the shutter button, and some extra red details just dotted around. I also noticed there's a really cool little exit screen during shutdown too. And if you capture GPS data from a third party device, you can sync it seamlessly with your videos in the Insta360 app with this unique MM93 dash design. And like I said, it comes with the same quality feature set as the standard Ace Pro 2. I've been using one for a little while now to get some great POV shots of my riding, where the 157 degree wide angle lens really captures the speed of those brisk rides out. I've previously tested the low light performance using the Pure Video Mode 2, and was impressed with how well it was lit, as well as the lack of noise, which is a common enemy for low light shooting. And more recently, I took it out for a spin a good while after sunset, and I was amazed to see that it took what little light there was and turned it into this glorious skyline. The limited Ace Pro 2 Mark Marquez edition is now on sale, and you can grab yours by going to the link down in the description. Okay, back to the video. Next is their incredible feel for grip and the ability to find and stay near the limit. Generally speaking, the closer and longer you can dance along the limits of grip over a lap, the faster you're going to go. And MotoGP riders are the best in the world in this regard. Through a combination of what they feel through the different touch points with the bike, the forces they sense on the body, as well as what they can see and hear, they have a sixth sense for where the limit is, and an unreal level of fidelity to consistently find and dance along that limit. From how they modulate brake pressure through the braking zone and into the corner, how they make micro adjustments with steering as braking forces and lean angle overlap, the millimeter adjustments they make with the throttle to get as much power down to the ground as early as possible, and the instinctive movement of the body to position their mass in the perfect place for optimal speed and grip. All riders will display this level of feel and adaptability over a lap, but it's how they manage the changes in grip over a race that's most impressive. MotoGP tires will have a performance drop-off over a race, and riders know this. So they manage their pace, unconsciously monitoring the feel they're getting from the tire to know how much they're stressing it and how much they're keeping in reserve for the latter part of the race. And then there's changeable conditions where riders are forced to deal with grip levels that change lap by lap and even corner by corner, all while staying close to the ever-changing limit to set the best lap times possible. And as these changes are happening, riders will know what tiny adjustments they need to make to their riding style to suit. This is a skill that is truly unquantifiable, where they have a near mystical connection with their machine. And every so often you'll have a rider come along that has supreme talent in this respect, so much so that even other MotoGP winners are baffled by what they do. Cal Crutchlow, speaking of his time at Honda with Marc Marquez, once said, "'It's difficult to understand how he does it. "'The way he can control the bike, "'the moments that he has, the way he slides it, "'his use of the rear and front brake "'is something very, very incredible. "'If you try to do what he does, it doesn't end well.'" Up next is their ability to battle and the unique mental attributes needed to do that. Everything we've discussed to this point has been around the incredible things riders are doing around the lap, but there's something you need to consider in all of this. They're doing it while being surrounded by equally hungry and aggressive riders that want nothing else than to make the next pass. And they're all riding at these same incredible speeds on the very edge of traction, just millimeters from each other, and sometimes even less than that. They not only need the skill to hustle these incredible machines around the lap at great speed, which is a huge achievement in itself, but they need to do it while in a heated battle with other riders who all want to finish higher up the order than them. This in itself brings a whole different set of skills. Calculated aggression to be able to make a pass at the right time and make it stick. Lightning fast decision-making to see an opportunity and take it, however tiny. Anticipating what their opponent is going to do based on their position and body language, or tactically setting up passes multiple corners in advance based on what they're learning from following that rider. And they do all of this while remaining calm, composed, focused, and spatially aware to keep themselves in the race to the very end. And through that, they're also stepping into the unknown time and time again, calculating the risks as they go, many times not fully knowing if they're actually going to make it at the other side of a corner as they break as late as they dare or take a line they've never taken so that they can be the ones picking up the silverware. Which leads nicely onto our last point, the sheer risks they're taking. Now, MotoGP machines and the tracks they ride on are as safe as they've ever been. And it goes without saying that there's one competition that stands alone when it comes to riders risking their lives. But with the speeds these machines now ride at, the huge forces at play through every phase of the corner, and the fact these riders are dancing along the limits of grip while bashing fairings at triple digit speeds, it's safe to say this is still no tiddlywinks competition. Every time riders strap on their helmet, they don't truly know if it will be the last race they ever start. Casey Stoner has previously opened up about being terrified at times throughout his career, in particular when he had to push, saying that he was scared through every single corner. They make it look easy, they look smooth and in control most of the time, but make no mistake, the dangers are huge and the fears very real. And this is why their physical condition is so important, not just to be capable of riding these machines, but because fatigue means a drop off in concentration and performance. And that means more mistakes, and that means more risk. A mistake in tennis, for example, may just mean hitting the ball out of play. You lose the point. In MotoGP, mistakes can literally be career ending. Looking at these five traits then, each stand alone has hugely impressive abilities in themselves. They need the physical condition of an elite Olympic athlete, the precision and agility of a gymnast, the feel and reactions of a rally driver, the fight and adaptability of a boxer, and like a mountain climber, the ability to stay calm and in control in the face of huge risk. Hopefully you can see now why I feel this puts MotoGP riders among the most extraordinary athletes on the planet. And the way they now use the bodies in particular to go fast is like nothing we've ever seen before. And in this video here, I cover exactly how MotoGP riders are taking body position to new extremes as they try to gain any little advantage they can. But outside of that, thank you so much for joining me for this one, and I will see you in the next one. Take care.