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Motorcycle races, you know, are also characterized by crashes that inevitably shape and change the standings, sometimes decisively influencing the outcome of the World Championship. If there is a rider with a reputation as a "crasher" that is certainly Marc Marquez. For years, those glorious ones with Honda and the four titles in a row he won from 2016 to 2019, following the two in 2013 and 2014, when he ended up on the ground he would pick himself up like nothing was wrong, but since Jerez 2020 the story has changed and his path in the premier class has turned into a real ordeal that is only now returning to normal.
Compared to some time ago, the Spaniard has grown and improved in his approach to the weekend and it is evident from the greater attention, especially in the race, that he pays to throwing away as little as possible. From Qatar to date , the eight-time world champion continues to remain the most reckless of the group with 16 total crashes, compared to 15 by rookie Acosta, but it is interesting to note that eleven of these occurred in practice in an attempt to find the limit of his GP23, which is an unknown machine for him in every respect.
Another peculiar statistic is that of the accidents in Sprint Races. Solid and consistent for much of the first part of the championship, he has begun to make more mistakes since Assen. Since the mini-race at the end of June inclusive, he has gone into the gravel on three occasions, specifically at Silverstone and the Red Bull Ring, holding his own only at Sachsenring. It is not easy to pinpoint the reasons for such sudden propensity to err, but what is likely is that as the appetite comes with eating, and he sees himself as being more in tune with his Desmosedici, the taste for trying at all costs may have taken over in a format that in cycling jargon might be ideal for fast sprinters.
Decidedly more circumspect, however, is his conduct in GPs. In contrast to what we have just analyzed on the Saturday, his tumbles have all occurred early in the year. The first in the second round of the season in Portimao, in the collision with Bagnaia that followed the overtaking, when, however, he managed to get back in the saddle to cross the finish line in 16th place, and the last in the next round at COTA. From there on, the ace from Cervera has shown regularity by finishing four times on the podium, three times fourth in Italy, England and Austria and once tenth in Holland.
A not insignificant detail is also to be found in the fact that his familiarity with the ground has come mostly during free practice, but not in the moments that counted, leading him to be fourth in the overall standings, thus ahead of, for example, Pedro, who has gone down on 15 occasions, so just one less than him. Acosta is lying seventh in the overall, and of course is further back than the current World Championship leader Pecco Bagnaia, down five times, but equipped with a GP24 that has allowed him to always circulate in and around the podium area and thus minimize the consequences of the zeros in the confrontation with his direct rival for the title fight Martin, who in turn has crashed in only three events. Proof of this is that the Italian is currently five points ahead of the Pramac rider.
MotoGP riders' race crash rankings.
1. Mir - 8
2. R. Fernandez - 6
3. Bagnaia - 5
4. Bezzecchi - 5
5. A. Fernandez - 5
6. Zarco - 5
7. Rins - 5
8. M. Marquez - 5
9. Binder - 4
10. Di Giannantonio - 4
11. Morbidelli - 4
12. Oliveira - 4
13. Martin - 3
14. Espargaro - 3
15. Miller - 3
16. Nakagami - 3
17. Bastianini - 2
18. Vinales - 2
19. Acosta - 2
20. A. Marquez - 2
21. Quartararo - 2
22. Marini - 1
