It has interested me for quite a while. When I see dare devils jumping over buses, fountains, canyons and stuff, they don’t seem to do this, but when I watch motocross racers they always seem to turn the front wheel before straightening it out before they land.
Are you sure they’re actually racing, as opposed to showing off their freestyle skills?
They may be showing off, but more likely they’re using the front wheel as a gyroscope to turn the bike in midair.
Turning the wheel left or right causes the bike to ‘roll’ to the right or left. Accelerating the rear wheel or slowing it down raises or lowers the front end.
Wow… And here I thought they were all just showing off all these years.
The tail whip where they swing the rear wheel around is a showoff move, it is often done by the winner as they cross the finish line.