MotoGP [VIDEO]: Marc Marquez' Riding Style. Spectacular Doesn't Even Begin to Cover It

It is an exciting time for MotoGP. Fans everywhere are talking about Marc Marquez since he became the youngest MotoGP winner in history last Sunday at the Circuit of the Americas (COTA) in Texas.

Being 20 years, 2 months and 5 days old, Marquez smashed the record that had been held by Freddie Spencer for over 30 years who won the title at age 21. To add to the record setting, Marquez' win of a primiere-class grand prix race was the first time Jorge Lorenzo, Dani Pedrosa or Casey Stoner hadn't won the race in almost 2 years.

Marquez was 3rd overall in February during testing in Malaysia. However he kept up with the iconic, Valentino Rossi for 5 laps, after which Rossi claimed that the Moto2 champion had a spectacular riding style!

So what was Rossi so excited about?

If you were watching Marquez ride you would notice that he gets really low in the corners. Riders talk -and some dream- about dragging knee. Well, when Marc Marquez rides his Repsol Honda RC213V to the limit he drags his elbow.

New School vs Old School

Marquez's riding style is new school. New school riders are known for their radical positioning when leaning off the bike. This brings some riders to the point where their knee and elbow are both touching the asphalt! The now retired Casey Stoner can also be considered a new school rider as well. Old school riders tend to keep their chest over the tank and appear to have a more reserved riding style.

There is critique over the necessity of the body-english new school riders exhibit. However, modern MotoGP motorcycles are better engineered than the earlier MotoGP bikes. Younger riders have the benefit of riding on machines with more rigid frames and tires with equal traction from side to centre for their entire careers. The old school riders dealt with technology of a lesser calibre in their early careers.

All this movement is about putting your weight in the right place at the right time. During maximum braking riders want to shift weight back to keep the rear wheel on the ground. For turns riders move around to lower their centre of gravity. Marquez shifts his whole body where the weight needs to go and does it in a way that is exhilarating to watch.

In the end, the farther you hang off your motorcycle, the more upright your bike is. Once you can still feel the bike's responsiveness and are aware of your contact patches then the new school style's advantages can't be denied. Marquez' performances in the barely started 2013 MotoGP alone are a testament to that.

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