Any grand prix season that ends without any serious crash injuries merits a sigh of relief.
Thankfully, that means most of them – nowdays thanks to the active safety of ever-improving rider gear and the passive safety of Dorna’s insistence that circuits are sufficiently safe, in terms of run-off, protected barriers, and so on.
Thankfully again, 2024 was one such season. Motorcycle racing is intrinsically dangerous and surviving intact is a matter of getting away with it, time and time again. Because there is one kind of crash – fallen riders hit by other bikes – when only luck determines the outcome.
MotoGP came close twice over the past two seasons. In 2024, it was at Sepang, and the hair’s-breadth escapee was Jack Miller, knocked off under the wheels of the pack. His helmet was grabbed by the back wheel of Fabio Quartararo’s fallen Yamaha, which made a good attempt at pulling his head off, “then (Joan)Mir used his legs as a double jump”. By a small miracle, Jack was able to walk away.
In 2023 it was Pecco Bagnaia, leading a tight pack when he flipped over the high-side in Catalunya. He was also run over, by Brad Binder. As at Sepang, the race was stopped and he was stretchered away. But also walking around soon afterwards.
So when Dorna’s final catalogue of 2024 crashes hit the doormat recently, it made for interesting reading.
For example, you’d expect that the junior loonies in Moto3 would top the tumble tally. They’re young and – not necessarily foolish, but headstrong. But you’d be wrong.
It’s the “responsible” senior citizens of MotoGP who fell off most, by quite a big margin: 335 crashes in MotoGP, 268 and 262 respectively for Motos 2 and 3.
Season 2024 was quite a crash-heavy year for the senior class. Records go back to 2010, and only in 2023 there were more: 358.
Taking all the classes together, seven MotoGP riders topped the individual list. Like this: Pedro Acosta – 28; Marc Marquez – 24; Alex Marquez – 21; Jack Miller – 20; then 19 each for Brad Binder, Aleix Espargaro and Augusto Fernandez. Only then come those with 18 on the slate: Zonta van den Goorbergh in Moto2, David Almansa and Filippo Farioli in Moto3.
Those top five names suggest that crashing is a requisite for success. In Moto2, the exception proves the rule. Remarkably, title winner Ai Ogura recorded only two falls the whole year.
The lowest tally in MotoGP was four, for Luca Marini… and he came 22nd overall, last of the full-time riders.
Some respect is due to the Aussies in the smaller classes: Senna Agius and Joel Kelso fell just eight times in Moto2 and Moto3, while highly respectable Moto3 rookie Jacob Roulstone only seven, on his way to 15th overall.
At which track were the most crashes? That’s easy… Jerez, thanks largely to rain on the Saturday. Dorna recorded 74 fairing-scraping incidents, 15 of them in a Sprint race in which nine riders failed to finish. It was actually sunny, but hard-to-see wet patches took an unenviable toll.
As for the most treacherous corner… take it as a point of honour, Phillip Island, with no less than 29 crashes at the Turn Four hairpin, Miller Corner. It was easily the most – the next was Austria’s Turns 2A-2B chicane (ironically introduced for safety reasons) with 19.
That’s where the ambulance-chasing photographers will gather this coming season. The rest of us can just celebrate that there were hardly any significant injuries all year.
