He's actually known for not having the best form in the world. Not that it's bad, but just not as exaggerated as a lot of the other guys he's racing with. That pic doesn't look all that bad, just not tucked right up into the tank. I think the worst pro racer I've seen with the outside knee thing is Jules Cluzel. Drove me nuts all year last year watching him win races in World Supersport (we don't get World Superbike or Supersport here anymore

) with that outside knee sticking out like this. lol If you really look at the picture, it's because he sticks his outside toes out.
The difference is these guys are FAST lol. They have a talent that the rest of us could only dream of ever having. They can overcome less than perfect technique with pure skill. Larry Pegram is actually a perfect example. One insanely fast racer. But some of the most god awful form I think I've ever seen. And he's well known for it. (I read somewhere that it's actually the way he's had to adapt his riding due to an old hip injury) But he's so insanely crossed up it's crazy. Lee Parks actually uses him as an example throughout his whole book
Total Control as a perfect example of what NOT to do. Lee does go on to say that Larry is by far a faster rider than he is. But that he's adapted to an inefficient style that would cause major issues for those who are less talented. I mean look at these two pics below. It's pretty obvious that Larry is using more lean angle and more energy, yet probably going significantly slower than Josh Herrin below him.
Larry
Josh
It's just all how these guys who have the major talent learn to ride. Here's a perfect example of two different techniques on the exact same bike. Josh Hayes, the most dominant rider in the AMA since Mat Mladin and quite possibly the fastest American in the world behind Ben Spies and Nicky Hayden and he's much more upright on the bike. Doesn't hang off quite so much, etc... Compared to Josh Herrin his teammate right behind him. Both are fast and talented. But Herrin is more "technically" correct. Hayes is faster though (right now at least

) If you tried to make Josh Hayes ride with the same exact form that Herrin has, he'd probably screw himself up so much he'd end up on the ground.
Riding technique is something that's evolving over time. Look at most of the GP racers from the 50's and 60's, they're sitting bolt upright on the bikes. Then guys from the 70's and 80's started hanging off the bike and dragging their knees. But they're all riding super crossed up. Then guys like Rossi came along and started getting more of their upper body over and they realized that was more effective and efficient. Now it's Marquez and a few of the other Moto2 guys who've taken hanging off to a whole new level, dragging elbow around the track.
There's no perfect form. But there's proper form that lets you get the most out of your skill level.
Now back to our regularly scheduled :squid: