The skill of riding a motorcycle is not inborn. It has to be learned through proper training and actual experience. When racing your motorcycle on the track, though, a bit of "unlearning" is also needed to be able to do it effectively and safely. You see, some of the practices professional motorcycle racers do on the track would be counter-intuitive to us newbies, but thing is, you just have to trust the science and let physics work its magic.

Joey Rivero, Yamaha Philippines' racing team head coach generously shared with us four basic tips on how ride like a pro and, in his words, "own the track".

1. Speed is your friend

The faster you go, the more stable your motorcycle will be. The momentum generated by the mass of the rider and motorcycle, together with the gyroscopic force from the spinning wheels, will help keep your rubber side down.

2. Smooth weight transfer

We may not consciously think about it but the center of weight of our motorcycle constantly shifts as we ride. It shifts to the rear when we accelerate, and shifts to the front when we brake. We also shift our weight to the direction that we want to go. The trick is to do the weight transfer as smoothly as possible so as not to upset stability and traction.

3. Use counter-steering

The common notion is that you push on the left grip to cause the front wheel, and the bike, to turn right. However, this will have the opposite effect. As the term suggests, counter-steering is pushing on the on the right grip to turn right and pushing on the left grip to turn left.

4. Suppress instinctive/survival reactions when faced with obstacles:

a. Target fixation

Do not visually fixate on the obstacle. Look where you want to go.

b. Death grip

Do not stiffen your arms and always keep a loose grip on the handle bar. Use your thighs to grip the motorcycle.

c. Letting go of the throttle

When decelerating, roll-off the throttle smoothly (see number 2).

d. Grabbing the brake lever

Initially apply about 5% pressure on the brakes to allow a smooth weight transfer before fully engaging the brakes. This practice is applicable to non-ABS motorcycles.

Try them out and see what happens. Just remember, pros hone their skills on the track and not on the streets.