With the 22nd place position no longer receiving any points in Supercross, it led me to wonder how often does that rider (& other riders) fail to finish the race?
There isn’t a definition I could find for what is considered an official “Did Not Finish” in the Supercross rulebook. So, I will break it down in three stages with different stats for each:
- Failure to complete 50% of the race
- Failure to complete 75% of the race
- Failure to complete 90% of the race
This will be based off laps data, so the information will only go back to 2003. I will also do a deeper dive on 22nd place position’s DNF rate as well.
Important note: I am excluding Triple Crown rounds from all the following data. This would complicate the analysis. I am also excluding Anaheim 1 2024 as this analysis was done in large part before that round.
From 2003-2023, there have been 338 total races (excluding Triple Crowns) and a total of 7,103 rider results in those races.
Failure to complete 50% of the race
382 – is the number of instances where a rider failed to complete 50% of the laps in a main event.
This comes to a DNF rate of 5.38%. (382/7,103 = 5.38%)
This means that an average of 1.13 riders per race have failed to complete 50% of laps in race since 2003.
However, this figure has trended downward:
Breakdown by Manufacturer:
| Manufacturer | 50% DNFs | Total Results | 50% DNF Rate |
| Yamaha | 88 | 1,464 | 6.01% |
| Kawasaki | 70 | 1,182 | 5.92% |
| Suzuki | 69 | 1,167 | 5.91% |
| Honda | 111 | 2,098 | 5.29% |
| KTM | 37 | 833 | 4.44% |
| Husqvarna | 6 | 287 | 2.09% |
| GasGas | 1 | 72 | 1.39% |
Since 2003, the rider with most DNFs by failing to complete 50% of laps? James Stewart with 12.
Failure to complete 75% of the race
504 – is the number of instances where a rider failed to complete 75% of the laps in a main event since 2003.
DNF Rate: 7.10%. (504/7,103 = 7.10%)
An average of 1.49 riders per race have failed to complete 75% of laps in race since 2003.
However, this figure has also trended downward:
Breakdown by Manufacturer:
| Manufacturer | 75% DNFs | Total Results | 75% DNF Rate |
| Suzuki | 94 | 1,167 | 8.05% |
| Kawasaki | 90 | 1,182 | 7.61% |
| Yamaha | 110 | 1,464 | 7.51% |
| Honda | 153 | 2,098 | 7.29% |
| KTM | 46 | 833 | 5.52% |
| Husqvarna | 10 | 287 | 3.48% |
| GasGas | 1 | 72 | 1.39% |
Since 2003, the rider with most DNFs by failing to complete 75% of laps? Weston Peick with 17.
Failure to complete 90% of the race
748 – is the number of instances where a rider failed to complete 90% of the laps in a main event.
DNF Rate: 10.53%. (748/7,103 = 7.10%)
An average of 2.21 riders per race have failed to complete 90% of laps in race since 2003.
Lastly, this figure has also trended downward:
Breakdown by Manufacturer:
| Manufacturer | 90% DNFs | Total Results | 90% DNF Rate |
| Suzuki | 148 | 1,167 | 12.68% |
| Honda | 234 | 2,098 | 11.15% |
| Kawasaki | 131 | 1,182 | 11.08% |
| Yamaha | 157 | 1,464 | 10.72% |
| KTM | 62 | 833 | 7.44% |
| Husqvarna | 13 | 287 | 4.53% |
| GasGas | 3 | 72 | 4.17% |
Since 2003, the rider with most DNFs by failing to complete 90% of laps? Alex Ray with 19.
22nd Position Deep Dive
Since the total riders in a Supercross Main Event was expanded to 22 in 2014, there have been 156 races from 2014-2023 (Excluding Triple Crowns).
Since 2014, riders finishing 22nd have failed to complete 50% of the laps 95 times, for a rate of 60.90% of the time.
Since 2014, riders finishing 22nd have failed to complete 75% of the laps 116 times, for a rate of 74.36% of the time.
Since 2014, riders finishing 22nd have failed to complete 90% of the laps 137 times, for a rate of 87.82% of the time.
In fact, riders finishing in 22nd have only completed 100% of the laps in a race one time since 2014, James Stewart in Seattle 2014. However, this is only because he was later penalized to 22nd position. The rider who finished in 22nd that night originally, (Bracken Hall) completed 17 of 20 laps.
Since 2014, the rider in 22nd has only completed an average of 9.28 laps. They have completed a median of 7.50. So we will likely know quite early in Main Events in 2024 who is ending the night with 0 points!
Thanks for reading! Any questions – hit me up on Twitter or Instagram: @MXReference
