Despite regularly reaching speeds in excess of 360km/h on their bikes, MotoGP™ riders avoid crashes through a combination of awareness, experience, riding skill, safety protocols, technology and ultra-fast reflexes.
Even though the riders in MotoGP are the very best in the world, they push to the absolute limits, so crashes do still happen in testing, practice sessions and races. The riders strive hard to avoid crashing, specifically aiming to ride safely and diligently just within the limits, especially during races, where crashes are most costly.
MotoGP is a high-adrenaline environment where jeopardy is part of the sport, but riders reduce risk with training, skill and strategy. The physical and mental preparation of the riders and the smart risk management they utilise in conjunction with their team analysts, engineers and crew chiefs allows them to put on a spectacular show, whilst protecting their safety.
Treating their rivals with respect, racing hard but fair, is part of the innate MotoGP riders’ safety code. They must also follow the indications of marshalls waving flags at trackside to advise them of potentially dangerous circumstances and they must follow the rules of MotoGP, which are designed to uphold safety and reduce risks of crashing, otherwise they will face specific penalties.
This deep-dive explains how MotoGP riders avoid crashes as much as they can, covering the skills, techniques, and decision-making that help them stay onboard at extreme speeds. Rider technique (body position, braking strategy, throttle control), race awareness (racing lines, braking points, overtakes, risk management) and external factors (tyres, electronics, track conditions, flags) all play a part in MotoGP crash prevention.
What do MotoGP riders do to avoid crashes?
There are several contributing behaviours and approaches which help MotoGP riders avoid crashes as much as they possibly can.
Over the years in the junior ranks and making their way up through Moto3™ and Moto2™ to the pinnacle of the sport in MotoGP, riders build up a huge amount of experience. They become highly familiar with the most regularly visited circuits on the MotoGP calendar and have deep knowledge of every track, the nuances of the circuit layouts and where they can accelerate, overtake and brake on the limit without crashing.
MotoGP riders train extremely hard both on and off the track, in order to develop a highly tuned sense of how they can push their hugely powerful racing prototype motorcycles to the limit of balance, performance and physics.
They hone their craft so that their bikes become almost an extension of their bodies on track. This means they are able to accelerate aggressively when needed, brake at the very latest possible moment, reach lean angles exceeding 60° to 65° from vertical while cornering, overtake with millimetres of precision and judge their tyre wear and pace in order to outmanoeuvre each other even on the last corner of the race without crashing.
Types of MotoGP crash – and why they still happen
When considering the expertise, tactics and protocols followed that help MotoGP riders avoid crashing more often, it is important to understand the main types of crashes that occur in the sport. We can therefore better understand what can be done by the riders, their teams, the circuit owners and/or the organisers of MotoGP to mitigate the risk of each type of crash.
In addition to crashes caused by contact between riders on track, which does happen, crashes can result from riders losing control and grip with their front or rear tyres (in ‘lowside’ and ‘highside crashes)’, or from track conditions when debris, oil or moisture causes accidents, or indeed when a mechanical fault with the motorcycle results in the rider losing control.
In this video on the official MotoGP YouTube channel, Honda HRC Castrol crew chief Santi Hernandez explains these main types of crash one by one.
“The majority of the crashes in MotoGP come when a rider loses the front,” Hernandez comments, describing lowside crashes first. “They happen when the rider brakes too late and too hard and this causes front wheel locking, so they lose the grip and suddenly lose the front.”
“Meanwhile a highside is normally when the rear tyre loses the grip and suddenly regains the traction and that's when the rider flips up off the bike. In the past, we saw the biggest crashes coming from highsides.”
Hernandez adds. “Now with electronics, we avoid many times the highside with the traction control and with the torque control, so it's much easier to control those kinds of crashes.”
“Crashes can be also dependent on the track situation,” the experienced crew chief explains. “It can be because there is oil on the track or because it's dirty and you lose the grip. Or sometimes because the tyre is new, or it's not at the correct temperature. Sometimes the rider crashes because of mechanical failure. It can be because the electronics or the traction control doesn't work in that moment in the correct way. Also, it can be because sometimes the tyre warmer didn't work.”
Rider skill: the fundamentals of staying upright
At the highest level of racing, staying upright is all about riders dominating the fundamentals. Smooth throttle control - aided by precision focussed electronics, adapted to the requirements of each rider by their team - prevents sudden weight transfer that can unsettle the bike and cause rear wheel spin.
Progressive braking, especially with delicate front brake sensitivity, helps riders avoid locking the front tyre under heavy deceleration.
Choosing the right racing line maximises grip while reducing lean angle. Riders must constantly manage lean and traction together, knowing that every extra degree of lean reduces available grip for braking or acceleration.
There have been numerous cases down the years of riders managing to make incredible ‘saves’ just when a crash – for example at maximum lean angle or after contact with another rider - seems completely inevitable. Witnessing the riders’ skill at avoiding an apparently inevitable crash is one of the most impressive elements of MotoGP.
Check out this video on the best ‘saves’ of 2025 as riders avoid crashes, when right on the limit:
Body position and balance in MotoGP
Body position also plays a crucial role in maintaining stability at extreme speeds of over 360km/h in MotoGP. By spectacularly hanging off the bike through corners, riders shift their centre of gravity to the inside of the curve, allowing the motorcycle to remain more upright for the same corner speed. This reduces lean angle and preserves grip.
Under acceleration, keeping the upper body low and controlled helps stabilise the chassis. Riders constantly move their body to balance forces, helping the tyres maintain consistent contact with the track surface and improving their overall control.
Braking technique and corner entry control
While late braking can gain time and positions, controlled braking reduces the risk of front-end loss. MotoGP riders often dangle a leg under braking to shift weight and aid stability.
Trail braking, meanwhile, involves gradually releasing brake pressure as the bike leans into the corner, keeping load on the front tyre without over-burdening it. Engine braking also helps slow the bike smoothly; see our in-depth “What is MotoGP engine braking?” explainer for more detail on that.
Tyre management and grip awareness
Tyre temperature is vital in MotoGP. Slick tyres must reach optimal operating temperature to provide maximum grip and cold tyres significantly increase crash risk. Riders therefore carefully manage warm-up laps and early laps, avoiding aggressive inputs until grip stabilises.
Late in races, tyre grip can drop due to wear, requiring riders to adapt their lines and braking markers. In wet conditions, riders use specific rain tyres to give them more grip on the slippery track surface.
Track awareness and racecraft
MotoGP riders constantly read the movements of the rivals around them on track. Recognising when another rider is struggling for confidence, grip or speed can present a safe passing opportunity, while forcing an overtake at the wrong moment increases crash risk.
Riders choose established passing zones where braking stability is strongest. When defending, they adjust lines to protect their position without causing contact. For example, holding a tighter entry into a corner may discourage a dive-bomb move. Smart racecraft balances aggression with respect and awareness.
Adapting to weather and track conditions
Weather can transform grip levels within minutes. Rain reduces traction dramatically, requiring smoother inputs and different racing lines. Plus of course a switch to rain tyres could be required.
Wind affects braking stability and corner entry precision. Cold temperatures delay tyre warm-up, increasing early-lap risk. As races progress, rubber build-up can improve grip on the racing line, while damp patches off-line remain hazardous. In flag-to-flag situations, where riders swap bikes mid-race due to changing weather (from dry to wet set-ups or vice versa), strategic timing and risk control become crucial to avoiding unnecessary crashes.
Keeping it rubber side down
MotoGP riders and their teams reduce risk, with awareness, experience, skill, strategy and technology combining to lessen the chance of a crash. But they can’t totally eliminate the possibility of crashing when they ride so hard and battle so fiercely with their rivals.
Ultimately, crashes are still a regular occurrence and that’s why riders are protected so effectively by their safety gear and the security features of MotoGP tracks.
To give Honda crew chief Santi Hernandez the final word on that point, he states: “The leathers of the rider, the helmet, the boots, the gloves, I mean, they have improved a lot. Also now they have the airbag in the leathers. This is for the safety of the rider, it's very important. They are using the sliders on the knee, they are using the protection on the arms and on the boots.”
“Also, you have the air fences. They’re very important if the rider hits that area, to have something to absorb the impact and to have less injury for the rider, and also to have big run-off areas, especially on the high-speed corners. These kind of things, Dorna is thinking about safety and this is very important for the future and for the riders.”