Trying to ID a MotoGP rider? Check their butt

Butt patches are one of the last remaining forms of identification and self expression in MotoGP. AlpinestarsFrom American football to the football that the rest of the world plays, and practically every sport in between, fans have learned that the best way to identify their favorite players is to look for the giant numbers on their backs and the names printed above them. In MotoGP, though, if you're trying to tell which rider is which, your best bet is to check their butt.

Butt patches have a history in motorcycle racing dating back to the 1970s, but through evolutions in technology, the emergence of a few larger-than-life personalities and racing's inherently all-consuming sponsorship…