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With the 2024 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship season wrapped up, it’s time to take a look back on one key theme from the season: how many times a rider crashed. Two riders topped the WorldSBK charts this year with 17 each across the 12 rounds, with plenty hitting double figures. It also gives an indication of the most challenging circuits and corners, with Misano featuring the most falls, and Turn 6 at Jerez the corner with the most crashes.

GENERAL OVERVIEW: similar numbers to 2023 in WorldSBK, up in WorldSSP and WorldSSP300

There were 652 crashes across the four Championships in 2024, with numbers up overall compared to last year but, in 2023, there were only three classes with WorldWCR introduced for this year, which accounts for the overall increase. In WorldSBK, there were 171 falls at an average of 14 per round. In WorldSSP, there were 38 more crashes compared to 2023 with 258 recorded this year, averaging 22 per round, while the number of falls increased from 131 to 161 in WorldSSP300. In WorldWCR, there were 62 crashes across the six events.

WORLD SUPERBIKE NUMBERS: Sam Lowes, Bautista lead the way; Razgatlioglu fewest of full-time riders

In WorldSBK, two riders recorded 17 falls in 2024. Rookie Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) and Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati) topped the unwanted charts of crashes this year with 17, seven clear of three riders who recorded 10 each. Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK), Tarran Mackenzie (PETRONAS MIE Racing Honda) and Andrea Locatelli (Pata Prometeon Yamaha) all recorded double-digit falls in 2024. The full-time rider with the fewest crashes, for the second year in a row, was 2024 Champion Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team), who fell twice: in FP2 at Misano and in FP2 at Magny-Cours.

EDWARDS TOPS THE CHARTS: Australian crashed the most in WorldSSP

In WorldSSP, Tom Edwards (D34G Racing WorldSSP Team) had 14 crashes this year as he topped the list just ahead of Bahattin Sofuoglu and Tom Booth-Amos (PTR Triumph), who each had 13. Luke Power (Motozoo ME AIR Racing) claimed third place with 12. In terms of the fewest of the full-time/WorldSSP Challenge riders, Simone Corsi (Renzi Corse) had just two across the season. 

CALATAYUD LEADS WORLD SUPERSPORT 300 CHART: only rider with 10 crashes

Looking at WorldSSP300, Unai Calatayud (ARCO SASH MotoR University Team) had the most falls this year with 10, and he was the only rider to record double-digit crashes. He was followed by Emiliano Ercolani (Yamaha Motoxracing WorldSSP300 Team) with eight and six riders who fell six times, including race winners David Salvador, Mirko Gennai (MTM Kawasaki) and Inigo Iglesias (Fusport-RT Motorsports by SKM-Kawasaki). Petr Svoboda (Fusport-RT Motorsports by SKM-Kawasaki) recorded just one fall, the fewest of the full-time riders in 2024.

WorldWCR CRASHES: Dobbs tops the table with nine

American rider Mallory Dobbs (Sekhmet Motorcycle Racing Team) had the most crashes in the inaugural WorldWCR campaign with nine, three ahead of Jessica Howden (Team Trasimeno) in second. Emily Bondi (YART Zelos Black Knights Team) and Tayla Relph (TAYCO Motorsport) were joint-third with five each. In terms of full-time riders who recorded a crash, Astrid Madrigal (ITALIKA Racing FIMLA), Roberta Ponziani (Yamaha Motoxracing WCR Team), Lucy Michel (TSL-Racing) and Nicole Van Aswegen (Andalaft Racing) recorded one each; however, it’s worth noting that 2024 Champion Ana Carrasco (Evan Bros Racing Yamaha Team) recorded no falls.

THE TRICKIEST TRACKS AND CORNERS: Misano has the most falls, Turn 6 at Jerez the corner with most crashes

The falls report gives an insight into which circuits and turns provide the biggest challenge. Misano had the most falls with 81 – albeit it was one of three circuits with all four categories – with Magny-Cours in second with 71 after a rain-affected weekend. Jerez was third with 70. In terms of the fewest, Phillip Island had 30 crashes across the weekend, with only WorldSBK and WorldSSP present, with Barcelona recording five more. In terms of specific corners, two recorded 20 or more crashes this year. Turn 6 at Jerez, the right-hand hairpin after a heavy braking zone, had 21 while Turn 13 at Magny-Cours had 20. Turn 10 at Cremona also features in the top three, with 18.

Total crashes for WorldSBK riders in 2024 (wildcards and replacement riders not included)

17 – Alvaro Bautista, Sam Lowes
10 – Alex Lowes, Andrea Locatelli, Tarran Mackenzie
8 – Andrea Iannone, Michael van der Mark, Jonathan Rea 
7 – Iker Lecuona, Axel Bassani, Remy Gardner, Xavi Vierge
5 – Nicolo Bulega, Scott Redding, Tito Rabat
4 – Danilo Petrucci, Michael Ruben Rinaldi, Bradley Ray, Garrett Gerloff
3 – Dominique Aegerter
2 – Adam Norrodin, Toprak Razgatlioglu

Relive the 2024 WorldSBK season in style using the WorldSBK VideoPass!