I'm Sorry, But You're Not as Good as a MotoGP Rider

If you start training right now, you'll still never be them.

By: Jonathon Klein

Jul 23, 2024 at 8:23am ET

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Listen, I hear you. You've got a full race suit. You've got the fancy-pants Alpinestars Supertech R10 helmet. You're a demon at your local track day on your Yamaha R1. You're the track's local badass.

And you very well may be the fastest person around it.

But I'm sorry, despite what you think, you'll never be a MotoGP rider capable of taking on the likes of Vinales or Marquez. Why? Because you haven't been training for that very specific job since you were 3 years old. which is how and why the current grid of MotoGP riders are even able to handle the sheer physical forces being foisted upon them.

It's one thing to hear it, but it's another to see it. And in the latest video from Life at Lean, he takes a closer look at how the current fastest riders in the world are using their bodies to go even faster. As well as how much wilder they do so than even your average MotoGP rider, let alone a track rat from Modesto.

According to Life at Lean, the best-of-the-best riders are even doing things differently—again, even compared to their other MotoGP brethren—including how they sit, where they place their bodies during braking, how they use their legs both through corners and in braking, steering, and how they brace themselves throughout.

He also talks about the forces involved in braking, cornering, and acceleration as modern MotoGP bikes are putting riders through so much more G-force than prior motorcycles. 2-G in some braking zones, while getting hit by 230mph winds when opening up before braking.

And all of this is also affecting how these riders physically train, with more and more focus being put on their chests, arms, and cores to deal with everything. That was something both Brad Binder and Pedro Acosta told me when I sat down with them earlier this year at Circuit of the Americas.

What do you think?

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But again, seeing Life at Lean dissect how these riders manage to keep themselves even just on the bikes has me wondering if I could even go full throttle for a few seconds, let alone try to get around a racetrack at anything but a snail's pace.

That said, if I got the chance Red Bull's Fabio Wibmer got with KTM's last-generation machine, I'd do my best. I'd be slow as hell, but a smile would be all across my face.