Marco Simoncelli Dead
The Honda family is mourning the loss of one its rising stars, the charismatic Marco Simoncelli. The Italian motorcyclist, Marco Simoncelli, died in a horrific crash at yesterday’s MotoGP race in Malaysia, in full view of his devastated family and girlfriend. Simoncelli’s death comes exactly a week after British racing driver Dan Wheldon, a former IndyCar champion and two-time Indy 500 race winner, was killed in a 15-car pile-up at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Marco Simoncelli crash happened when the Gresini Honda rider lost control of his bike on the second lap of the circuit in Sepang and appeared to be hit by Colin Edwards and then Valentino Rossi as he slid across the track. Simoncelli’s mother, Rossella, father Paolo and girlfriend Kate watched in horror as Simoncelli’s bike was smashed to pieces after his dramatic loss of control in the second lap. The helmet came off in the collision and he was taken to the medical centre for treatment, but died from his injuries.
Marco Simoncelli has an aggressive style that didn’t always suit the venue, but he was maturing as a rider. This season, he earned his first two MotoGP podiums and his first two MotoGP pole positions. Only a week ago, he finished a career best second in MotoGP race at the Australian Grand Prix, taking the runner-up spot to Casey Stoner (Repsol Honda RC212V) with a brilliant last lap pass of Andrea Dovizioso (Repsol Honda RC212V).
Photos from that day show Simoncelli standing out on the podium, which he also did in life. It wasn’t just because he was tall, Simoncelli’s height was one of the taller riders in MotoGP, and it wasn’t just for the blossoming, bushy hair that paid homage to guitar legend Jimi Hendrix, but it was because of his outsized personality and his passion for winning.
The Career of Marco Simoncelli
Marco Simoncelli, not to be mistaken with the other one which is a harmonica player, was a top rider of the Italian Minimoto Championship from 1996 to 2000, he moved to 125cc bikes after taking two consecutive titles in the aforementioned discipline. After a promising first season in the 125 Honda Trophy, he took the European 125cc title in 2002 and had a first taste of Grand Prix racing the same year. In 2003, Simoncelli undertook his first full season in the World Championship with the Matteoni Racing team.
Then Marco Simoncelli moved to the Rauch Bravo team in 2004 and scored his first Grand Prix win at a rain-soaked Jerez, but could only manage an eleventh placed finish overall. Another 125cc campaign in 2005, with the Nocable.it Race team, was completed with an improvement in the final standings in fifth place, giving Marco Simoncelli the opportunity to leap into the quarter-liter category. In 2008, Simoncelli achieved his first race victories in the 250cc class, his maiden triumph coming at his home race in Mugello, and was involved in some breathtaking battles with his rivals over the course of the year. On 25 June 2009, it was confirmed that Simoncelli would move up to premier class racing for 2010 MotoGP championship after agreeing to ride with the San Carlo Gresini Honda team.
Marco Simoncelli first MotoGP podium came with third at Brno, and he added a second place at Phillip Island, bringing him up to fifth in the standings, behind only the works Honda trio and Lorenzo. Before getting into brighter career, he got the crash which lead to his death. Now fans are hunting Marco Simoncelli merchandise.
Marco Simoncelli’s baptism of fire in MotoGP continued at the Sepang circuit today after the Italian suffered a second massive high-side crash in three weeks at the Malaysia venue.
The former 250GP world champion was on only his third lap of the morning session when he crashed heavily accelerating out of a fast right-hander.
Early reports suggested the impact was so big that the San Carlo Gresini Honda rider’s helmet cracked, which was later confirmed by circuit officials.
He was reportedly dazed and confused at the scene but was taken by ambulance to hospital in Kuala Lumpur for precautionary head scans.
Simoncelli was given the all-clear and returned to the circuit later in the day before confirming he would be allowed to fly back to Europe tonight.
The latest crash is another massive setback for the former Gilera 250GP rider who has struggled so far to make the transition to MotoGP.
He was lucky to escape serious injury in Sepang earlier this month when he high-sided out at Turn 4 in an exact replica of James Toseland’s high-side during the 2009 pre-season testing campaign.
Many expected Simoncelli to be a podium dark horse in 2010, but he has found the switch to Honda’s RC212V machine much tougher than anticipated.
He was only 16th quickest at the first Sepang test in early February and yesterday (Thursday) he endured a torrid time.
He finished slowest by some way and was 0.7s off next best rider Randy de Puniet on the LCR Honda.
No comments:
Post a Comment