One statistic that is often representative when analysing a rider’s MotoGP campaign is the number of crashes they suffered during the given season.
Too many crashes usually indicate that something is not quite right, although there are some cases where even higher-placed riders in the standings end up in the gravel too often.
Gresini’s Marc Marquez may have got his smile back after switching from Honda to Ducati, finishing on the podium four times to become an outside contender for the title, but the truth is that he continues to be dogged by frequent falls – even without the complicated and crash-prone RC213V.
Following this month’s British Grand Prix at Silverstone, the six-time champion leads the list of riders with most crashes so far in 2024 – continuing a trend seen through much of his 11-year stint at Honda. In the 10 race weekends so far, he has crashed a total of 15 times, putting him on course to equal or even surpass his tally from 2023, when he set a record of 23 crashes.
Tech3 GasGas rookie Pedro Acosta sits second in the standings having crashed 12 times in the first half of the year, the same number as his more experienced KTM stablemate Brad Binder.
Honda duo Johann Zarco and Joan Mir, along with VR46’s Marco Bezzecchi, are next up with 10 crashes each, averaging one incident per round.
Among the championship protagonists, Pramac’s Jorge Martin has suffered seven accidents in 2024 so far – including from the lead of the German GP before the summer break – while Francesco Bagnaia and Enea Bastianini have crashed five times each on their factory Ducatis.
It’s also interesting to note that Aprilia’s Maverick Vinales and Pramac recruit Franco Morbidelli have already surpassed their tallies from 2023 with eight crashes each, while new Yamaha rider Alex Rins has equally his number from 2023 (eight).
In terms of manufacturers whose riders crashed the most, Ducati leads the way with 66 accidents – although the picture is skewed by the fact that it fields a total of eight bikes as opposed to four for most of its rivals.
KTM riders crashed 42 times this year, while the Honda quartet have suffered 29 bikes on what remains a difficult bike to ride in 2024.
Yamaha, with just two bikes, sits at the bottom of the table with 13 crashes between Rins and Fabio Quartararo.
