Video: is this the finest motorbike 'save' ever?

"Want to win? Hire a Finn..."

So ran the motto of rally teams back in the Seventies. Today, Top Gear suggests that motto is updated to: "Want to watch a bloke finish a motorbike race heroically sliding along the tarmac on his knees? Hire a Finn..."

The frankly ridiculous clip you see above stars Niklas Ajo, a Finnish motorbicyclist who races a KTM in the Moto3 World Championship.

At last weekend's race in Assen, Ajo pulled off one of the most ridiculous saves we've witnessed in any form of motorsport, ever.

Getting a serious high-side wobble into the last corner on the final lap, the iron-willed Finn somehow clung onto his bike despite a significant excursion onto the grass.

Better still, Ajo coaxed the KTM back onto track, crossing the finish line in 17th place, adopting a pose we believe is known in riding circle as ‘the Cossack stance'.

I was really lucky not to hit the wall," said the grinning Ajo after the race. "I just wanted to save myself, and in the end I was just a few metres from the finish line, so I just finished it..."

Finest save ever? If you've seen better, let us know in the comments below.