Overtaking in motorcycle racing: rules and flags, awareness of the pack, preparation at corner exit and a plan B. Why races are riskier than practice.
The honest answer: A good overtake does not begin at the place where you pass, but one or two corners earlier. There you get the better exit, the position and the overview so that you have a choice at the braking zone. Braking later alone is rarely the solution.
On the state of research we say it clearly: there is no study that measures overtaking technique in motorcycle racing. We can support the frame. An analysis of racing driver textbooks, four of them on motorcycle racing, describes "situational awareness" as a training goal: knowing what is going on around you, anticipating what others will do, and keeping track of the riders behind you [4]. The world championship regulations require riders to ride so that they do not endanger others or gain an unfair advantage [1]. And the numbers show why caution applies: in the 2024 MotoGP season there were more falls in qualifying and in the sprint race than in practice [2].
Everything concrete about overtaking below is coaching practice and carries no source number.
Realistically: this is a pro skill with high risk. You learn it only when line, braking point and reference points are solid, and first in guided training.
In the world championship: under a yellow flag overtaking is forbidden until the green flag. Whoever does it anyway and notices it immediately must deliberately let the overtaken riders pass again, then the penalty is dropped [1]. Under a blue flag you are about to be lapped and must let the faster riders pass as early as possible [1]. Your organiser has its own rules.
Milestone: You can recite the flags and overtaking bans of your event.
Train to perceive the riders around you. The textbooks call it "work on seeing": knowing what happens around you and anticipating what the others will do [4]. Do not look only at the rider ahead, but also at the gap behind.
Milestone: After a lap you can say who rode where behind and ahead of you.
Find the place where the rider ahead loses time and plan your exit from the corner before it. Whoever comes out faster there has speed on the straight and a choice at the braking zone. That is practice.
Milestone: You ride the corner before the overtaking place with a better exit speed than the rider ahead.
Make the decision before the braking point: pass or stay behind. If you hesitate only in the braking zone, it is too late. Set a marker by which you must be ahead, otherwise you stay behind (plan B). That is practice.
Milestone: Three decisions in a row that are made before the braking point.
After the pass you move into your line and leave the overtaken rider room. Cutting across is not only impolite, it violates the rule not to endanger others [1]. Then ride your race again, not his.
Milestone: After the move you are back on your reference line.
Set yourself an "overtaking budget": at most two attempts per session, and for both you have a plan B. Whoever attacks every lap rides below his abilities and above his risk. That is coaching practice. On the numbers: that races bring more falls than practice is shown by the 2024 MotoGP season [2].
In the world championship overtaking is forbidden under a yellow flag until the green flag [1]. Whoever notices and lets the riders pass again immediately avoids the penalty [1]. Your series may have additional rules.
You are about to be lapped. You must let the riders lapping you pass as early as possible [1]. Overtaking within a group of lapped riders is forbidden under blue [1].
Follow the briefing of your organiser, overtake only where it is allowed, and plan a retreat. Practise it with an instructor. There is no uniform source for the rules of individual track days.
In the 2024 MotoGP season the fall rate in qualifying and in the sprint was higher than in practice [2]. Wet conditions also raised the risk [2]. That applies to the world elite and is a hint for amateurs, not a benchmark.
There is no reliable study on it. Plan the move through the better exit of the corner before and decide before the braking point. Which place suits you, clarify with an instructor.
From the Road to the Racetrack: How to Start Motorcycle Track Riding and How Dangerous It Really Is