After a dramatic final race of the year at Valencia, the statistics are in on who has crashed most this season. In the premier class, the list is led by rookie Sam Lowes, who crashed 31 times, followed closely by eventual Champion Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team), who famously took a tumble 27 times over the course of the season. Next up is Alvaro Bautista (Pull&Bear Aspar Team), who had 26 crashes. In Moto2™, rookie Jorge Navarro (Federal Oil Gresini Moto2) crashed the most on 30, followed by Sandro Cortese (22) and Axel Pons (20). In Moto3™, John McPhee crashed 20 times, with Gabriel Rodrigo (RBA BOE Racing Team) and Kaito Toba (Honda Team Asia) for close company on 19 each. Combined across all classes, this is how it looks:
Looking at the stats across recent history, there is also a tendency towards more crashes. This season broke the record, with 1126 falls – beating both the 1062 of 2016 and the 981 of 2014. With a fuller and more competitive grid than ever, riders push to the limit like never before – and sometimes, over it.