How Many MotoGP Drivers Have Died?

MotoGP has a long history of crashes, driver injuries, and unfortunate deaths. Compared to motorsports with four wheels – NASCAR has 29 fatalities – the risk of serious injury multiplies when you are on a racing motorcycle. How many MotoGP drivers have died since its inception?

Since the inception of the FIM World Championship on June 13, 1949, a total of 107 MotoGP drivers have died. From 1949 to 1989, a total of 99 MotoGP drivers died on the track. From 1990 to date, there have been 9 MotoGP drivers who have sadly lost their lives, one as young as 14 years old.

Even with all the added rider safety equipment, and increased measures to make the racing circuits safer, when a motorcycle racer falls from their bike, it\’s up to fate to decide if they will ride again. It\’s one thing falling from your bike, and momentum takes you into a safety barrier. It\’s another thing when you fall in the middle of a racing pack, being hit by steel machines at a tremendous pace.

Too many MotoGP drivers have lost their lives since the beginning of the FIM World Championship on June 13, 1949. A total of 107 motorcycle racers have lost their lives while competing under the MotoGP mantle.

Safety measures have helped to minimize the death of the riders in recent decades, and long may it continue. As exciting as motorcycle racing is for both the driver and the spectator, it remains one of the most dangerous motorsports in the world.

When a driver is flung from his bike, it\’s him against concrete, gravel, and worst of all, fellow competitor bikes. A racing suit and helmet can only offer so much protection. Sadly, when a fellow rider drives over you, it will feel like you aren\’t wearing any protection.

MotoGP Drivers Who Have Died In 1949

The first official MotoGP death was recorded on June 13, 1949, on the Isle of Man, involving Ben Drinkwater from the UK. The accident occurred in the very first race of the brand-new FIM World Championship – the Isle of Man TT – when Drinkwater fatally collided with a barrier close to the 11^th milestone marker post.

Today, an S-bend corner, close to the accident location on the famous Mountain Course, is known as \”Drinkwater\’s Bend\” in honor of the first man to lose his life in MotoGP. A total of 3 MotoGP drivers died in 1949. The year MotoGP was born.

Rider	Bike	Circuit	Race	During Event	Class	Date
Ben Drinkwater (UK – 1)	Norton	Isle of Man TT – Mountain Course	1949 Isle of Man TT	Race	350cc	June 13, 1949
Edouard Bruylant (BEL – 2)	Norton	Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps	1949 Belgium Grand Prix	Race	Sidecar	July 17, 1949
“Hurst” (GBR – 3)	Norton	Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps	1949 Belgium Grand Prix	Race	Sidecar	July 17, 1949

MotoGP Drivers Who Have Died 1950-1959

Racing motorcycles in the 1950s was a dangerous profession that could result in death. A total of 28 riders lost their lives from 1950-1959, a bloody decade for motorcycle racing. The Isle of Man TT claimed 11 of those lives. Today, the Isle of Man TT is the most dangerous motorcycle race in the world.

David Whitworth was the first casualty of the 50s when he and Charlie Salt managed to crash into each other during the 1950 Belgian Grand Prix held at Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps. Whitworth fractured his skull, died the next day, and was buried in the local cemetery in Spa as he \”wished to be buried close to the scene of any fatal accident.\”

Rider	Bike	Circuit	Race	During Event	Class	Date
David Whitworth (GBR – 4)	Velocette	Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps	1950 Belgium Grand Prix	Race	350cc	July 2, 1950
John O’Driscoll (GBR – 5)	Rudge	Isle of Man TT – Mountain Course	1951 Isle of Man TT	Practice	350cc	May 31, 1951
Chris Horn (GBR – 6)	Norton	Isle of Man TT – Mountain Course	1951 Isle of Man TT	Race	500cc	June 8, 1951
Dario Ambrosini (ITA – 7)	Benelli	Circuit d’Albi	1951 French Grand Prix	Practice	250cc	July 14, 1951
Sante Geminiani (ITA – 8)	Moto Guzzi	Clady Circuit	1951 Ulster Grand Prix	Practice	250cc	August 15, 1951
Gianni Leoni (ITA – 9)	Norton	Clady Circuit	1951 Ulster Grand Prix	Practice	250cc	August 15, 1951
Dave Bennett (UK – 10)	Norton	Circuit Bremgarten	1952 Swiss Grand Prix	Race	500cc	May 18, 1952
Ercole Frigerio (ITA – 11)	Gilera	Circuit Bremgarten	1952 Swiss Grand Prix	Race	Sidecar	May 18, 1952
Frank Fry (UK – 12)	Norton	Isle of Man TT – Mountain Course	1952 Isle of Man TT	Practice	500cc	June 4, 1952
Norman Stewart (UK – 13)	Norton	Clady Circuit	1952 Ulster Grand Prix	Race	350cc	August 16, 1952
Harry Stephen (UK – 14)	Norton	Isle of Man TT – Mountain Course	1953 Isle of Man TT	Race	350cc	June 8, 1953
Thomas Swarbrick (UK – 15)	AJS	Isle of Man TT – Mountain Course	1953 Isle of Man TT	Race	350cc	June 8, 1953
Leslie Graham (UK – 16)	MV Augusta	Isle of Man TT – Mountain Course	1953 Isle of Man TT	Race	500cc	June 12, 1953
Geoffrey Walker (AUS – 17)	Norton	Isle of Man TT – Mountain Course	1953 Isle of Man TT	Race	500cc	June 12, 1953
Ernie Ring (AUS – 18)	AJS	Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps	1953 Belgian Grand Prix	Race	500cc	July 5, 1953
Simon Sandy-Winsch (UK – 19)	Velocette	Isle of Man TT – Mountain Course	1954 Isle of Man TT	Race	500cc	June 18, 1954
Gordon Laing (UK – 20)	Norton	Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps	1954 Belgian Grand Prix	Race	350cc	July 4, 1954
Dennis Lashmar (UK – 21)	BSA	Solituderin	1954 German Grand Prix	Race	500cc	July 25, 1954
Rupert Hollaus (AUT – 22)	NSU	Autodromo Nazionale Monza	1954 Nations Grand Prix	Practice	125cc	September 11, 1954
Ricardo Galvagni (ARG – 23)	Norton	Nurburgring	1955 German Grand Prix	Practice	500cc	June 25, 1955
Julian Crossley (UK – 24)	Norton	Dundrod Circuit	1955 Ulster Grand Prix	Race	350cc	August 11, 1955
Derek Ennett (IOM – 25)	Moto Guzzi	Dundrod Circuit	1956 Ulster Grand Prix	Race	350cc	August 9, 1956
Charlie Salt (UK – 26)	BSA	Isle of Man TT – Mountain Course	1957 Isle of Man TT	Race	500cc	June 7, 1957
Josef Knebel (GER – 27)	BMW	TT Circuit Assen	1957 Dutch TT	Practice	Sidecar	June 28, 1957
Roberto Colombo (ITA – 28)	MV Agusta	Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps	1957 Belgian Grand Prix	Practice	350cc	July 6, 1957
John Antram (NZ – 29)	AJS	Isle of Man TT – Mountain Course	1958 Isle of Man TT	Practice	350cc	May 26, 1958
Des Wolff (RHO – 30)	Norton	Isle of Man TT – Mountain Course	1958 Isle of Man TT	Race	500cc	June 6, 1958
Adolfo Covi (ITA – 31)	Norton	Autodromo Nazionale Monza	1959 Nations Grand Prix	Race	500cc	September 6, 1959

MotoGP Drivers Who Have Died 1960-1969

MotoGP racing deaths in the 60s were on par with the 50s, claiming 27 lives. Again, the track responsible for the most deaths was the now notorious Isle of Man TT. This decade of motorcycle racing notably claimed the life of female driver Marie-Laure Lambert.

Sidecar driver Claude Lambert and his passenger, wife Marie-Laure Lambert, entered the 1961 Isle of Man TT in their BMW sidecar. Unfortunately, the pair crashed at the 35^th-mile marker Gob-ny-Geay, and Marie-Laure died from her injuries.

Rider	Bike	Circuit	Race	During Event	Class	Date
Peter Ferbrache (UK – 32)	AJS	TT Circuit Assen	1960 Dutch TT	Race	350cc	June 25, 1960
Bob Brown (UK – 33)	Honda	Solituderin	1960 German Grand Prix	Practice	250cc	July 24, 1960
Mike Brookes (UK – 34)	Norton	Isle of Man TT – Mountain Course	1961 Isle of Man TT	Practice	500cc	June 10, 1961
Marie-Laure Lambert (CH – 35)	BMW	Isle of Man TT – Mountain Course	1961 Isle of Man TT	Race	Sidecar	June 12, 1961
Ralph Rensen (UK – 36)	Norton	Isle of Man TT – Mountain Course	1961 Isle of Man TT	Race	500cc	June 16, 1961
Ron Miles (AUS – 37)	Norton	Dundrod Circuit	1961 Ulster Grand Prix	Practice	350cc	August 9, 1961
Tom Phillis (AUS – 38)	Honda	Isle of Man TT – Mountain Course	1962 Isle of Man TT	Race	350cc	June 6, 1962
Colin Meehan (NZ – 39)	AJS	Isle of Man TT – Mountain Course	1962 Isle of Man TT	Race	350cc	June 6, 1962
Hans Schuld (NED – 40)	NSU	TT Circuit Assen	1962 Dutch TT	Practice	250cc	June 29, 1962
Marcelin Herranz (FRA – 41)	Moto Morini	Charade Circuit	1963 French Grand Prix	Practice	250cc	June 1, 1963
Brian Cockrell (UK – 42)	Norton	Isle of Man TT – Mountain Course	1964 Isle of Man TT	Practice	Sidecar	June 2, 1964
Peter Essery (UK – 43)	Matchless	Isle of Man TT – Mountain Course	1964 Isle of Man TT	Race	Sidecar	June 8, 1964
Roland Foll (GER – 44)	Honda	TT Circuit Assen	1964 Dutch TT	Practice	125cc	June 26, 1964
Karl Recktenwald (GBR – 45)	Norton	Solitudering	1964 German Grand Prix	Race	500cc	July 19, 1964
Vernon Cottle (UK – 46)	AJS	Imatra Circuit	1964 Finnish Grand Prix	Race	350cc	August 29, 1964
Norman Huntingford (UK – 47)	Matchless	TT Circuit Assen	1966 Dutch TT	Race	Sidecar	June 25, 1966
Toshio Fujii (JPN – 48)	Kawasaki	Isle of Man TT – Mountain Course	1966 Isle of Man TT	Practice	125cc	August 26, 1966
Brian Duffy (UK – 49)	Yamaha	Isle of Man TT – Mountain Course	1966 Isle of Man TT	Race	250cc	August 28, 1966
Alfred Shaw (UK – 50)	Norton	Isle of Man TT – Mountain Course	1967 Isle of Man TT	Practice	500cc	June 10, 1967
Werner Daubitz (DDR – 51)	MZ	Sachsenring	1967 East Germany Grand Prix	Practice		July 16, 1967
Ian Veitch (NZ – 52)	Kawasaki	Isle of Man TT – Mountain Course	1968 Isle of Man TT	Race	250cc	June 10, 1968
Johann Attenberger (GER – 53)	BMW	Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps	1968 Belgian Grand Prix	Race	Sidecar	July 7, 1968
Josef Schillinger (GER – 54)	BMW	Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps	1968 Belgian Grand Prix	Race	Sidecar	July 7, 1968
Rolf Schmid (GER – 55)	BMW	Hockenheimring	1968 Hockenheim Grand Prix	Race	Sidecar	October 13, 1968
Arthur Lavington (UK – 56)	Velocette	Isle of Man TT – Mountain Course	1969 Isle of Man TT	Practice	350cc	June 6, 1969
Bill Ivy (UK – 57)	Jawa	Sachsenring	1969 East German Grand Prix	Practice	350cc	July 12, 1969
Frantisek Bocek (CSK – 58)	Jawa	Brno Circuit	1969 Czechoslovakian Grand Prix	Race	350cc	July 20, 1969

MotoGP Drivers Who Died 1970-1979

Another decade of motorcycle racing meant another 24 motorcyclists dead. The Isle of Man TT claiming 11 riders was expected when looking back at previous decades of racing at this extremely dangerous race.

After the death of one of the most talented riders of his era, Finnish rider Jarno Saarinen, at the 1973 Nations Grand Prix (Italy), increased demands for better safety conditions for all motorcycle racers who competed in world championships intensified.

Saarinen became an inductee of the FIM MotoGP Hall of Fame in 2009, and to this day, he is the only Finn to have won a motorcycle road racing championship (250cc class in 1972.) He finished second to 15-time Championship winner and biking legend Giacomo Agostini during the year before his untimely death.

Rider	Bike	Circuit	Race	During Event	Class	Date
Robin Fitton (UK – 59)	Norton	Nurburgring	1970 German Grand Prix	Practice	350cc	May 2, 1970
Les Iles (UK – 60)	Bultaco	Isle of Man TT – Mountain Course	1970 Isle of Man TT	Practice	125cc	June 1, 1970
Michael Collins (UK – 61)	Seeley	Isle of Man TT – Mountain Course	1970 Isle of Man TT	Practice	500cc	June 3, 1970
Dennis Blower (UK – 62)	BSA	Isle of Man TT – Mountain Course	1970 Isle of Man TT	Practice	Sidecar	June 3, 1970
Santiago Herrero (ESP – 63)	Ossa	Isle of Man TT – Mountain Course	1970 Isle of Man TT	Race	250cc	June 8, 1970
John Wetherall (MLT – 64)	Norton	Isle of Man TT – Mountain Course	1970 Isle of Man TT	Race	500cc	June 12, 1970
Brian Steenson (UK – 65)	Seeley	Isle of Man TT – Mountain Course	1970 Isle of Man TT	Race	500cc	June 12, 1970
Maurice Jeffery (UK – 67)	Norton	Isle of Man TT – Mountain Course	1971 Isle of Man TT	Race	500cc	June 12, 1971
Christian Ravel (FRA – 68)	Kawasaki	Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps	1971 Belgian Grand Prix	Race	500cc	July 4, 1971
Gunter Bartusch (DDR – 69)	MZ	Sachsenring	1971 East Germany Grand Prix	Practice	350cc	July 8, 1971
Gilberto Parlotti (ITA – 70)	Morbidelli	Isle of Man TT – Mountain Course	1972 Isle of Man TT	Race	125cc	June 9, 1972
Hans-Jurgen Cusnik (GER – 71)	BMW	Brno Circuit	1972 Czechoslovakian Grand Prix	Race	Sidecar	July 16, 1972
Renzo Pasolini (ITA – 72)	Harley-Davidson	Autodromo Nazionale Monza	1973 Nations Grand Prix	Race	250cc	May 20, 1973
Jarno Saarinen (FIN – 73)	Yamaha	Autodromo Nazionale Monza	1973 Nations Grand Prix	Race	250cc	May 20, 1973
Billie Nelson (UK – 74)	Yamaha	Opatija Circuit	1974 Yugoslavian Grand Prix	Race	250cc	September 8, 1974
Phil Gurner (UK – 75)	Yamaha	Isle of Man TT – Mountain Course	1975 Isle of Man TT	Race	500cc	June 4, 1975
Rolf Thiele (GER – 76)	Yamaha	TT Circuit Assen	1975 Dutch TT	Race	250cc	June 28, 1975
Paolo Tordi (ITA – 77)	Yamaha	Mugello Circuit	1976 Nations Grand Prix	Race	350cc	May 16, 1976
Otello Buscherini (ITA – 78)	Yamaha	Mugello Circuit	1976 Nations Grand Prix	Race	250cc	May 16, 1976
Walter Worner (GER – 79)	Yamaha	Isle of Man TT – Mountain Course	1976 Isle of Man TT	Race	Sidecar	June 7, 1976
Les Kenny (AUS – 80)	Yamaha	Isle of Man TT – Mountain Course	1976 Isle of Man TT	Race	250cc	June 12, 1976
Hans Stadelmann (CH – 81)	Yamaha	Salzburgring	1977 Austrian Grand Prix	Race	350cc	May 1, 1977
Giovanni Ziggiotto (ITA – 82)	Yamaha	Opatija Circuit	1977 Yugoslavian Grand Prix	Race	250cc	June 18, 1977
Ulrich Graf (CH – 83)	Kreidler	Opatija Circuit	1977 Yugoslavian Grand Prix	Race	50cc	June 19, 1977

MotoGP Drivers Who Died 1980-1989

During the 80s, the motorcycle racing community experienced fewer deaths than in the preceding decades, which could be because the Isle of Man TT was removed from the IFM roster in 1976, being handed to the United Kingdom after safety concerns (took them long enough!). The British Grand Prix replaced the Isle of Man TT.

MotoGP legend Giacomo Agostini started to protest in favor of the removal of the Isle of Man TT in 1972 and stated “he would never race again at the Isle of Man\” before declaring it too dangerous a track for international competition. Agostini believed it was outrageous that professional riders were forced into competing there.

Modern-day MotoGP legend Valentino Rossi, who did a lap on the famous course, stated: “I did a lap of the Isle of Man, and I understand why people love this because it’s f**king awesome. It’s unbelievable, great. But, unfortunately, it’s too dangerous. Sometimes, riders are crazy.” And we all know Rossi was not the type to scare easily.

Rider	Bike	Circuit	Race	During Event	Class	Date
Patrick Pons (FRA – 84)	Yamaha	Silverstone Circuit	1980 British Grand Prix	Race	500cc	August 10, 1980
Malcolm White (UK – 86)	Yamaha	Silverstone Circuit	1980 British Grand Prix	Race	Sidecar	August 10, 1980
Michel Rougerie (FRA – 87)	Chevallier	Automotodrom Grobnik	1981 Yugoslavian Grand Prix	Race	350cc	May 31, 1981
Sauro Pazzaglia (ITA – 88)	MBA	Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari	1981 San Marino Grand Prix	Practice	250cc	July 11, 1981
Alain Beraud (FRA – 89)	Yamaha	Brno Circuit	1981 Czechoslovakian Grand Prix	Race	250cc	August 30, 1981
Jock Taylor (UK – 90)	Windle	Imatra Circuit	1982 Finnish Grand Prix	Race	Sidecar	August 15, 1982
Iwao Ishikawa (JPN – 91)	Suzuki	Bugatti Circuit	1983 French Grand Prix	Practice	500cc	March 29, 1983
Michel Frautschi (CH – 92)	Honda	Bugatti Circuit	1983 French Grand Prix	Race	500cc	April 3, 1983
Rolf Ruttimann (CH – 93)	MBA	Automotodrom Grobnik	1983 Yugoslavia Grand Prix	Race	125cc	June 12, 1983
Norman Brown (UK – 94)	Suzuki	Silverstone Circuit	1983 British Grand Prix	Race	500cc	July 31, 1983
Peter Huber (CH – 95)	Suzuki	Silverstone Circuit	1983 British Grand Prix	Race	500cc	July 31, 1983
Kevin Wrettom (UK – 96)	Suzuki	Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps	1984 Belgian Grand Prix	Practice	500cc	July 7, 1984
Alfred Heck (GER – 97)	LCR	Circuit Paul Ricard	1988 French Grand Prix	Practice	Sidecar	July 21, 1988
Ivan Pallazzese (VEN – 98)	Aprilia	Hockenheimring	1989 German Grand Prix	Race	250cc	May 28, 1989

MotoGP Drivers Who Died 1990-2022

As you may have noticed, the number of deaths in MotoGP has drastically decreased compared to previous decades. The lower mortality rate is due to many factors, such as protective riding gear and upgrading safety at most circuits.

On October 23, 2011, a collision occurred between Colin Edwards and close friends Valentino Rossi and Marco Simoncelli in the Malaysian Grand Prix. Simoncelli lost control of his bike, sliding in the direction of the gravel. What happened next will haunt many a MotoGP rider and fan for many years.

Simoncelli\’s tires suddenly regained traction, making the bike change direction into the path of oncoming traffic. While Simoncelli was hanging onto the right side of the bike, he was hit by Edwards before Rossi hit him in the head area. No rider had any chance of missing Simoncelli, who died half an hour later in the circuit\’s medical center.

Alarmingly, there have been three recent deaths that rocked the motorcycle world to its core, involving very young drivers:

The circumstances and age of the drivers have led to safety concerns going forward. The FIM responded by introducing safety reforms:

Riders participating in any of MotoGP\’s 3 classifications must be 18 years old beginning in 2023.
The age limit in Moto2 and Moto3, the two classes on the ladder directly below MotoGP, is presently fixed at 16 and will now move up to a minimum age of 18.
The grid sizes sanctioned by the FIM for the junior series were lowered from the beginning of 2022, and a year added to the minimum ages.

Rider	Bike	Circuit	Race	During Event	Class	Date
Nobuyuki Wakai (JPN – 99)	Suzuki	Circuito de Jerez	1993 Spanish Grand Prix	Practice	250cc	May 1, 1993
Simon Prior (UK – 100)	LCR	Hockenheimring	1994 German Grand Prix	Race	Sidecar	June 12, 1994
Dajiro Kato (JPN – 101)	Honda	Suzuka Circuit	2003 Japanese Grand Prix	Race	MotoGP	April 6, 2003
Shoya Tomizawa (JPN – 102)	Suter	Misano Circuit	2010 San Marino and Rimini Grand Prix	Race	Moto2	September 5, 2010
Marco Simoncelli (ITA – 103)	Honda	Sepang International Circuit	2011 Malaysian Grand Prix	Race	MotoGP	October 23, 2011
Luis Salom (ESP – 104)	Kalex	Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya	2016 Catalan Grand Prix	Practice	Moto2	June 3, 2016
Jason Dupasquier (SUI – 105)	KTM	Mugello Circuit	2021 Italian Grand Prix	Qualifying	Moto3	May 29, 2021
Hugo Millan (ESP – 106)	KTM	Motorland Oregon Circuit	European Talent Cup Race	Race	Moto3	July 25, 2021
Dean Vinales (ESP – 107)	Yamaha	Circuit de Jerez-Angel Nieto	Supersport 300 World Championship Race	Race	Supersport 300	September 25, 2021

Conclusion

All racing has an element of risk, and the drivers get paid to consider that risk. The risk of being a motorcycle racer is that your chance of dying on the track is higher when compared to most other racing sports. This element of danger is what makes motorcycle racing so intriguing.