From the beginning of GPs, when the bike barely leaned over and nobody thought of dragging their knees, until now, when bikes lean at almost 70 degrees and riders drag up to their elbows... and shoulders! How we have changed! How, why and who made it possible is what we are going to see in this video. Guess the riddle: What has changed the most in bikes, what has made them change the most and what has made the riders' driving style change the most? You've all guessed this one: The tyres: Neither the engine, nor the chassis, nor the brakes, nor the aerodynamics that are so in vogue now, have changed the bike and its driving as much as the tyres. I'll go further: Other things have changed precisely to adapt to the wheels. For example, the enormous grip of the tyres requires more rigid chassis and allows for more powerful brakes and engines. The World Championship of motorcycling started in 1949, a year before F1. The first GP bikes were long, the weight was very far back and they were difficult to get into a corner. The almost street-style tyres with a tread did not allow the leaning that we have today. The idea was to maintain the speed of the bikes in the corner, using inertia above all, and the riders, on the most powerful bikes, were very far back, to have traction. Of course they leaned, but they did not hang back. The riders used the toes of their boots as references… Then slicks came along and the riders could lean more and even draw their legs in to protect their knees and not drag them on the ground… Until a genius came along in 1969… and changed everything! Jarno Saarinen became famous for his style, dragging his knee. Why drag his knees? That is what many thought. Well, basically for three reasons. One, because he leaned too much and he had no other choice. Two, because he moved his body inwards and for that he had to bend his knee… and bring it closer to the ground. And three, be amazed, because the bike had three points of support: the two wheels and the knee. In the event of a skid, it was easier to recover the bike if you had an extra point of support. At first, many or all of the engineers and many riders said he was crazy... until he started winning races, one after another, achieving two runner-up positions in the 350 in 1971 and 1972 and the 250 World title in 1972... he was going to be Giacomo Agostini's great rival. And only a serious and unfortunate accident prevented that from happening. Saarinen, sadly, disappeared. But, fortunately, an extraterrestrial arrived from Mars who changed everything. Honestly, I confess that I am convinced that Kenny Roberts is an extraterrestrial who came to Earth. Let's start with one thing: a wheeled vehicle with an engine if it understeers, that is, slides forward and opens the curve, will be slow. This was endemic on GP bikes. On the other hand, if you oversteer, that is, you go from behind and “close” the curve, you will be fast. Kenny came from racing the American AMA Dirt Track Championship, which was mostly contested on ovals of dirt or cinder. He would win in 1973 and 1974. And on ovals, to turn, you have to slide. There is no other way to turn than by giving it gas. Kenny saw Saarinen at the Daytona 200 and was impressed by his style. So when he came to Europe and they gave him a MotoGP bike and he saw that he could not “get it” into the curve, what did he do? Use his own technique of sliding and the one he saw Jarno use of dragging the knee. And for that technique, dragging the knee was even more useful. Kenny Roberts changed the style of riding a GP bike based on “pushing” the front wheel and skidding. He had the same problem as Jarno: first he protected his suit with duct tape and then he started using a nylon chafing dish more or less like the ones we use now. The grip of the tyres kept improving but it seemed impossible for a bike to lean any further. True, the bike didn't, but the rider did. The audacity of a rookie can be very irritating... It's probably what you would have seen in 2013 if you ask Jorge Lorenzo second in the World Championship that year, Dani Pedrosa third or Valentino Rossi fourth, the "kings" of the top category beaten by the rookie Marc Márquez. What did Marc Márquez do that the others didn't? Well, probably many things, but one of them was to drop off the bike more than anyone else and drag his knee, elbows and almost the handlebars. The same thing that everyone else does now… This was partly the reason for the famous “saves” because as a friend of mine used to say: “He doesn’t fall because he’s already on the ground”… Conclusion. There are riders who have stood out for their efficiency, like Agostini or Spencer. Others for their strategy, like Nieto. Others for their genius, like Schwantz or Stoner… but only a few for having been able to influence the riding technique of all those who have come after them. I have a special weakness for riders like Saarinen and Roberts, without