2023 WorldSBK fall report: Who topped the unwanted crash category?
That means an average of 14 crashes per round as the 2023 WorldSBK season was held across 12 venues (36 races).
Two factory riders led the way as Alex Lowes topped the fall column with 15. Second was Honda’s Iker Lecuona who had 13 to his name.
- Rea: “The more laps I do the more confidence I get, already competitive”
- Alvaro Bautista diagnosed with ‘cervical nerves compression’ damage
Lowes missed time as a result after picking up injuries in Magny-Cours, Portimao and Jerez.
Lorenzo Baldassarri, who looks set to miss out on a seat for next season, was third on the list with 11 falls, one more than world champion Alvaro Bautista.
Bautista did not suffer any injuries from his crashes, although he did suffer cervical nerve compression damage during a post-season crash in testing at Jerez.
No other full-time rider crashed more than nine times, however, one man who did suffer nine falls was Jonathan Rea.
Now aboard a Yamaha, Rea suffered his worst season with Kawasaki in terms of wins as he was forced to ride beyond the limit on too many occasions.
Danilo Petrucci was particularly impressive as the Superbike rookie crashed just three times, while the most amazing stat involved Toprak Razgatlioglu.
The 2021 world champion went down just twice throughout the year, despite having to produce some of the best, most aggressive and risk-taking riding we’ve ever seen to try and beat Bautista.
