MotoGP’s official crash statistics for 2024 paint a very different picture to what many would have perceived about the recently-concluded season.
Without looking at the numbers, one would have thought MotoGP broke the record for the most crashes in a single season. After all, this season was branded as the “championship of mistakes” by Francesco Bagnaia, primarily due to him and title rival Jorge Martin making critical errors at crucial junctures of the season.
But, MotoGP had ‘just’ 335 crashes over 20 rounds in 2024, down from 358 in 2023, which also featured the same number of events. In fact, the number of crashes recorded this season were the same as 2022, the last year before the sprint format was introduced.
In terms of average, 2024 featured 16.8 crashes per round, which is down not only on 2023 but also 2017, when premier class bikes were much slower than now.
The reduction in crashes is particularly surprising given the new rear tyre introduced by Michelin meant riders were riding faster than ever at most tracks and, hence, closer to the limit.
The difference in grip also led to the phenomenon of ‘rear pushing the front’, leading to even more falls than usual.
Marc Marquez, Gresini Racing and Francesco Bagnaia, Ducati Team crash
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
Riders like Brad Binder, Fabio di Giannantonio, Alex Rins and Miguel Oliveira all missed one or more races due to crashes, while even wildcard and stand-in competitors were seen hitting the ground on several occasions.
However, it wasn’t just cumulative crash figures that are puzzling, as the individual rider statistics also appear to defy how viewers summed up the 2024 season.
In particular, much was made of Bagnaia’s ill-timed crashes during the year, including his exit from second in the sprint race at the season’s penultimate weekend in Malaysia.
However, it’s interesting to note that the eventual 2024 runner-up suffered just nine falls during the year, at an average of 0.45 per round. That means the number of grands prix he won this year (11) exceeded his crash tally, seemingly belying the perception that his 2024 campaign was riddled by frequent crashes.
In fact, along with VR46’s Di Giannantonio, Bagnaia suffered the fewest falls of any full-season Ducati rider in 2024.
For comparison, eventual champion Martin crashed a total of 15 times this year on his Pramac-entered Ducati, while Gresini’s Marc…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at Autosport.com – MotoGP – Stories…