The advanced riding technique in MotoGP™ of elbow dragging has become a familiar yet ever-impressive sight at the highest level of motorcycle racing.
MotoGP™ riders lean their bikes at extreme angles of up to 65˚ from vertical on cornering, with their body position seeing them hang off their bikes and their knees and elbows helping them glide their way gracefully across the tarmac.
The MotoGP™ elbow dragging technique is used by the riders to get through corners as quickly and smoothly as possible, with riders such as Marc Marquez popularising the practice in the early-to-mid 2010s.
First it was knees down, then elbows and even shoulders down as MotoGP™ lean angles and corner speeds increased. Better MotoGP™ safety gear, rider fitness and technique have also contributed to the phenomenon, as has the evolution in advanced engineering of the incredibly agile and powerful 1000cc prototype motorcycles used in MotoGP.
Riders brake as hard and late as they can, getting to the apex of the corner as fast as they can, leaning their bikes right over through the apex, as they brush their knees, elbows and even shoulders against the track surface to maintain stability and control of their bikes with gravity defying grace.
MotoGP™’s Elbow-Down Technique Explained
MotoGP™ elbow dragging is one of the most spectacular sights on a Grand Prix track: riders leaning at what appear to be impossible angles, dragging their knees and elbows - at incredible speeds - to maintain as much speed as possible when cornering.
Knee dragging came first and elbow dragging is an evolution of that technique, as the riders hang off the side of their bikes – especially through long sweeping corners.
The bike is leaned in towards the ground on the inside of the corner, countering the G-force naturally pulling the weight of the bike towards the outside of the corner.
When the riders are leaning their bikes over and hanging off the motorcycle, they use the contact with the track surface through their knee and elbow sliders (protectors) to guide their way through the corner. MotoGP™ riders don’t have the objective of dragging an elbow, it is simply a result of lean angle plus body position.
Role of Lean Angle in MotoGP™
Lean angles have become ever more extreme over the years – now regularly reaching way over 60˚ from vertical. This has occurred as corner speed has increased, tyre quality has increased, track surfaces are better maintained and the performance (especially the stability) of the bikes has also increased hugely in terms of aerodynamics and electronics.
However, MotoGP™ riders do not want too much lean angle. They want to take the corner as quickly and safely as possible, so they hang their bodies off the side of the bike in order to control (even somewhat reduce) the lean angle, then get back upright as quickly as they can in order to increase the acceleration out of the corner.
Risks and Benefits of Elbow Dragging
The benefits of elbow dragging are that it enables riders to better judge the lean angle, to help them feel the track/grip levels, stick closely to the optimum corner angle (in terms of racing line) and to take the corner safely and confidently.
However if the rider’s body positioning is off, if grip levels are not what the rider expected or the bike loses stability for any other reason, crashes do occur fairly regularly, whilst riders are elbow or knee dragging on cornering.
Sometimes in rare and spectacular cases when riders have leaned the bike over too much and/or lost control of the front tyre against the asphalt, they are capable of remarkable ‘saves’ whereby they use a knee or elbow to prevent a crash (pushing back up off the ground) and continue riding safely.
Crashing, though, is part of the sport and the riders often say they would be unable to find the limit (in terms of maximum speed or performance) unless they occasionally go over that limit.
Dragging a knee or elbow is part of the process for many riders as they seek to find the limit, yet it is not required on many corners. On the longer, high-speed sweeping corners is when the riders lean over most, whereas through chicanes, hairpins, or shorter corners the riders remain in a more upright position.
Amongst the riders in MotoGP™, cornering technique varies significantly and some riders choose not to hang-off their bikes so much, therefore rarely or never touching their elbows down. Others are very much in the ‘elbows down’ camp!
Danilo Petrucci, a popular former MotoGP™ rider now competing in the WorldSBK championship, says it’s a style that will continue to evolve.
“Now the young riders really move a lot on the bike, with an incredible intensity,” Petrucci told Motorsport Magazine. “I touched my elbows on the ground and everything, but the young guys are now making more exaggerated moves on the bike and this is the right way to go faster. When I started my career in MotoGP, it wasn’t so important to do that.”
Evolution of Riding Posture
In the late 1970s, Kenny Roberts headed to Europe from the US, winning the 500cc World title in three successive seasons from 1978 to 1980. Previously riders had used the toe of a boot to touch the ground and guide them on corners, but Roberts popularised the technique of dragging a knee on corners.
Roberts’ cornering technique was inspired by that of Jarno Saarinen, who had pointed his knee to the ground when riding, occasionally touching the knee down. Sadly Saarinen’s tragic death at Monza in 1973 meant he would not be part of the further evolution of the style.
MotoGP™ Legend Roberts began wearing knee protectors, given he would regularly get his knee down on the asphalt. The technique would become widespread amongst Grand Prix riders with lean angles becoming more pronounced: as speed and technology permitted.
In the modern MotoGP era, it is not only the technology that has evolved beyond recognition. As part of a wider trend of riders using their body weight and moving more on the bike then previous generations, Marc Marquez became the example of a new ‘elbows down’ riding style.
Going on to win multiple MotoGP world titles after his arrival in the top class in 2013, Marquez had already started to develop his ‘hanging off’ style in Moto2™. Taking advantage of the extraordinary lateral grip of MotoGP tyres, Marquez began to lower his body off the bike as much as possible, somewhat limiting the inclination of the bike and dragging his elbow across the race track when cornering.
This allowed him to push the limits of performance further, cornering in a more extreme style, supporting and guiding himself with his elbows. It was a style that would rapidly catch on and soon many others were copying the exceptionally talented Spaniard.
Elbow Protection - MotoGP™ Safety Gear Adaptation
The leathers worn by the riders in MotoGP™ are custom fit by suppliers such as Alpinestars, Dainese and Spidi, designed and refined over the decades with numerous safety features. Each rider’s racing suit is tailored to fit perfectly and it’s essential that the riders have good mobility in their suits, whilst the inbuilt protectors for their knees, coccyx, shoulders, back, elbows and forearms are all in exactly the right place.
Knee sliders and elbow sliders are made of a durable compound and easily replaceable on the suit. They are abrasion-resistant plates which provide protection for the leathers and the rider’s skin underneath, from the contact with the asphalt and the heat generated by knee and elbow dragging.
Elbow dragging in MotoGP™: extreme precision encapsulated
In essence elbow dragging reflects the evolution of the modern MotoGP™ riding technique. Indeed now it is even fairly commonplace to see the riders leaning and hanging so far off the bike that their knee, elbow and even shoulder all brush against the race track.
Elbow-down riding in MotoGP™ symbolises the sport’s continuous evolution in technique, technology, and rider skill. It reflects how far riders now push the limits of physics and performance.
While not essential in every corner, elbow dragging enhances feedback, stability and confidence at extreme lean angles. The technique highlights the constant pursuit of precision, speed and innovation that defines MotoGP™ as the pinnacle of motorcycle racing.
Now you’ve learned all about elbow dragging in racing, increase your knowledge further by reading about the curious technique of MotoGP™ leg dangling!