1. Physics
Crashes are basically all about braking acceleration (a) – and how suddenly that occurs. This is calculated based on velocity (v, in metres per second) and braking distance (s, in metres per second). The formula is a=v2/2s
What does that mean in practice?
What do we learn here?
A long run-off zone is more significant physically than speed. As long as the rider doesn’t encounter any solid obstacles (their bike, their competitors), they have a good chance of getting back up again pretty quickly, albeit somewhat shaken and stirred. They’re also trained to do precisely that.
2. Equipment
When grand prix motorcycle racing started, the best riding equipment used to be army surplus – an old flying jacket or even a Knochensack (literally meaning bonesack), which was a thick leather overcoat worn by paratroopers. They protected you from cuts and grazes but not much more.
The greatest revolution in terms of safety has been the airbag, which has now been mandatory for two years
High-tech modern bike leathers are made from kangaroo leather and are durable, smooth and, in view of what they can withstand, waferthin and comfortable to wear. Every set of leathers is tailormade and riders get through about 15 sets per season.
The greatest revolution in terms of safety has been the airbag, which has now been mandatory for two years. If there’s a crash, the sensor-operated airbag on the torso inflates in a flash, while you’re still in flight.
For example, the Alpinestars system used by Marc Márquez is fully inflated in 25 milliseconds, so well before the rider makes any contact with the ground. The airbag protects the neck, collarbone, shoulders and ribcage. It's made broken collarbones – once so common – a thing of the past. For the riders, the airbag triggering is at worst a little unpleasant. It might briefly wind them.
At every MotoGP event, the top bike leather manufacturers have several people on site who analyse the data from every crash data to improve protection for the parts of the body most at risk. and minimise the consequences of any crash.
3. Training
Germany’s five-time world champion Toni Mang was one of the first riders to actively embrace crash training. Back in the early 1980s he hired a former instructor from the German army who didn’t just whip him into shape but also had him doing endless soft-landing jumps.
“That’s why I was hardly ever injured when I crashed,” the 70-year-old recalls. Today’s riders are thoroughbred athletes. They have supreme motor skills and fitness and they’re also muscular. Riders literally work out until their muscles are a like armour. As you can see on your left, Marc Márquez is a prime example of this.
However, we’ll never be able to completely rule out the type of freak accident like the one he had at the start of the season when his bike careered into him and broke his arm. That’s physics in action right there.
