Marco Bezzecchi
Diogo Moreira was the only rider to graduate from Moto2 into MotoGP this season and has already made his mark by debuting a riding style that has never been seen before in the premier class.
In line with MotoGP’s evolution over its storied history, the riding styles of the fearless competitors who straddle the premier class prototypes have equally evolved with it.
The gentlemanly upright postures of old simply wouldn’t cut it on today’s machinery, and have slowly been adapted to the gravity-defying, elbow-dragging riding styles that we see out on track in the current landscape of the sport.
The most recent innovation came from Valentino Rossi, who spearheaded the one-legged braking manoeuvre, dubbed ‘the Doctor’s Dangle’, that pretty much every rider who currently competes in Grand Prix motorcycle racing now utilises.
However, Diogo Moreira showcased an evolution of Rossi’s ground-breaking approach to the braking zones at the recent Thailand Grand Prix, and it looked to have aided the 21-year-old’s respectable debut.
- READ MORE: Diogo Moreira told he is the ‘only one’ who can compete with Marc Marquez in multiple disciplines
Who was your rider of the day for the Thailand Grand Prix? 🏍️
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Peter Bom draws attention to Diogo Moreira’s unprecedented MotoGP riding style
During his analysis of the 2026 season-opener for Australian Motorcycle News, MotoGP journalist Peter Bom highlighted Moreira’s unprecedented riding style that was on display during his debut in the premier class.
In an assessment of the young Brazilian’s impressive debut, he said, “Hats off to his learning curve because he stays calm every time, gets a little bit better, and he might be introducing something new for MotoGP, which I don’t know the official name of. I would call it the two-legged dangle.
“We are all used to riders, when they brake super hard, and they have to balance the whole bike on just a couple of centimetres from the front wheel, they usually have their inside leg dangling out to create an arm with momentum, to balance themselves a little bit better.
“What Diogo Moreira does is also stick out the other leg, the outside leg, not so far and not so long, but it helps him balance the bike.
“I’ve seen this movement in other classes; it’s not completely new, but it’s new in MotoGP, and it’s very, very hard to do because once you also stick out your outside leg, you have fewer ways to support yourself with all the G-forces from the deceleration on these MotoGP bikes.
“So you need to have a lot of control over your body muscles and be really sure how you support yourself on the bike to do it.
“But when you do it, it must give you an advantage. So, maybe rookie Diogo Moreira is starting a trend in MotoGP with the double-legged dangle.”
- READ MORE: ‘Poor’ Toprak Razgatlioglu could have ‘harder time’ in MotoGP than Diogo Moreira, says Jorge Lorenzo
The first race of 2026 is done! What would you rate the Thailand Grand Prix out of 10?
Diogo Moreira was ‘super happy’ with his MotoGP debut at the Thailand Grand Prix
Despite finishing in the bottom half of the riders who saw the chequered flag in Buriram on Sunday, Moreira found a lot of positives that he could take from his first foray in the premier class.
The LCR rider secured the first points of his MotoGP career with a P13 finish, and ended up just five seconds off his vastly more experienced teammate in Johann Zarco.
Following the conclusion of the season-opener, Moreira revealed his thoughts to the media, saying via Honda’s official website, “It was a good race, I’m super happy. I fought with Enea, and it was fun.
“The tyre dropped off quite a lot, so I struggled a bit, but overall it was really good. At some point, I was alone pushing because after 12 laps, the tyre degradation was significant, but it was still a positive race for me.
“We’ve started the season with high motivation, and this is a learning process. I can’t wait to do more races, I’ve had so much fun this weekend!”
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