MotoGP falls list: Rookies top, Vinales least, Marquez highest average

Binder, the first rider since Jack Miller to jump straight from Moto3 to MotoGP, fell 27 times from his RNF Yamaha during practice, qualifying and races this year (testing falls are not included in the official MotoGP stats).

That was four more accidents than fellow newcomer Marco Bezzecchi (VR46 Ducati), with Honda riders Pol Espargaro and Alex Marquez tied for third with 21 accidents.

However, in terms of falls per number of events completed, it was fellow RCV rider Marc Marquez who had the highest average, just as he had in 2021.

The eight-time world champion fell 18 times this season, putting him sixth overall behind Enea Bastianini.

But Marquez only competed in a partial season, missing the Mandalika race after a massive highside in warm-up, which also caused him to sit out the following Argentine weekend.

The Repsol Honda rider then skipped six more complete events after undergoing arm surgery.

18 falls over 12 full events gives an average of 1.5 accidents per round for Marquez. Even if Mandalika is counted as a full event (13 rounds), Marquez’s average of 1.38 is still the highest of any rider this year.

The other riders to fall on average at least once per round were: Darryn Binder (1.35), Bezzecchi (1.15), Pol Espargaro (1.11) and Alex Marquez (1.05).

After suffering his final accident of the year in the season-ending Valencia race, Marquez said: “Especially, we need to understand the way to stop the bike well on the brakes. It's so difficult to stop. Then we're stopping the bike too much on the last part [of braking], and this means risk.

“If you ride alone you can manage more or less. But when you are in a group, then it’s very difficult to fight with this bike. For that reason I crashed today, Alex crashed, Pol crashed. A lot of crashes from Honda riders during all the season.”

Since joining MotoGP with Repsol Honda in 2013, Marquez has fallen 15, 11, 13, 17, 27, 23, 14, 2, 22, and now 18 times per year. He hasn't completed a full season of races due to his arm and eye injuries since 2019.

Johann Zarco, the most frequent MotoGP faller in 2019 and 2020, matched Marquez on 18 this year. Iker Lecuona had topped last year's list with 26 accidents.

At the other end of the table, Vinales delivered a remarkably incident-free season, suffering the first of just two falls from his Aprilia at round 15 in Aragon.

Title contender Fabio Quartararo, plus Luca Marini and Alex Rins (19 rounds) were next best with seven falls each, with Ducati's newly crowned world champion Francesco Bagnaia middle of the table on 14.

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Moto2

The peak faller in the intermediate class was Thai rider Keminth Kubo with 25 accidents, followed by 22 for Niccolo Antonelli and 20 each for Aron Canet and Jake Dixon.

World champion Augusto Fernandez fell 13 times compared with 9 for title rival Ai Ogura, although both fell three times in races.

Dutchman Bo Bendsneyder fell just once during the entire season, an impressive feat he had also managed in 2020, albeit over 15 rather than this year’s 20 round.

Moto3

22 falls for rookie Elia Bartolini was the most by a Moto3 rider this season, closely followed by the more experienced Kaito Toba with 20.

Runaway world champion Izan Guevara fell five times, with three falls for former title runner-up Dennis Foggia and Ana Carrasco, and just two for Xavier Artigas (PrustelGP).

In terms of circuits, the opening European round in Portimao proved by far the most treacherous event of the season, with unpredictable weather contributing to 105 falls in all classes over the course of the weekend.

The French Grand Prix at Le Mans, renowned for tricky conditions, then caught out 87 riders and Misano 71.

The least amount of accidents came at Termas de Rio Hondo, with only 34 falls during Argentina's first grand prix weekend since 2019.