Their knee and elbow sliders are brushing the pavement. It is how they know they are far enough down.
Fabio Quartararo is doing 80 kph in this slow motion video with the bike leaning at 63 degrees. Note the line the back wheel is taking.
They put the bike into a slide to help with the cornering. They all train on motocross then do the same moves on the tarmac. I am also absolutely in awe of how they can be braking at well over 200 kph and go into a turn with the back wheel still off the ground.
These riders can do lap after lap consistent to a tenth of a second in around a ninety second lap. Qualifying is usually determined by differences of hundredths of a second. The difference between first and fifteenth in a forty five minute race race can easily be a matter of less than five seconds.
I urge anyone who has not watched MotoGP to take a look. Seriously you won't believe what you see. The next meeting is in a week. The races will be Sunday afternoon European time.
The Moto3 race is often the most exciting with it not being unusual for half the field to be in a lead group with the leader constantly changing in almost unbelievable overtakes. All the more exciting this year with the sixteen year old sensational rookie Pedro Acosta who was placed second in the first race of the season and has won every race since, one of them from a pit lane start.