Fallen Hero – Marco Simoncelli

PUBLISHED October 24, 2011 IN miscellaneous /

It is with great sadness that I post this tribute to Marco Simoncelli, a fallen motorcycling hero that died in a terrible motorcycle crash at the Malaysian MotoGP held at the Sepang International Race Circuit. Marco was a special talent, […]

Marco was a special talent, winning Mini-Moto, 125cc National and European Championships before jumping into the deep end and racing in the 125cc, 250cc and MotoGP Championships, where he succeeded in them all and always raced with such strong determination and raw speed.

The tragic death comes as a shock to the motorcycling world but his last moments in life and on his motorcycle were 100% Marco – Fighting hard for his position, taking his motorcycle beyond the limit and back again all while racing his heart out doing what he loved.

God Speed – RIP Marco

Marco Simoncelli – Imola WSBK 2009 Finish – 3rd!! Race 2

A decent tribute video I came across showing his riding skills and love for racing:

Shortly after Marco Simoncelli died, this statement was released:

Doctor Michele Macchiagodena said: “I’m very sad to be here to report about the death of Marco Simoncelli, a friend. Because of the crash he had during the race, in which he was hit by other riders, he suffered a very serious trauma to the head, to the neck and the chest. When our medical staff got to him he was unconscious. In the ambulance because there was a cardiac arrest they started CPR (cardiac pulmonary resuscitation). Immediately in the Medical Centre, with the help also of the Doctor of our staff at the Clinica Mobile and local Doctors, he was intubated and it was possible to take off some blood from the thorax. The CPR was continued for 45 minutes because we tried to help him for as long as we thought it was possible. Unfortunately it was not possible to help him and at 16:56 (local time) we had to declare he was dead.”

Marco Simoncelli – Born to race
1987: Born in Cattolica, Italy on January 20.
1996: Runner-up in the Italian Minimoto Championship.
1999: Champion of the Italian Minimoto Championship.
2000: Claims a back-to-back title in the Italian Minimoto Championship and is runner-up in the European Minimoto Championship.
2001: Moves up to the the Italian 125cc Championship and wins the title in his rookie year.
2002: Wins the European 125cc title.
2003: Takes part in his first full season in the 125cc World Championship with the Matteoni Racing team.
2004: Joins the Rauch Bravo team and wins his first Grand Prix at a rain-soaked Jerez.
2005: Completes another 125cc campaign with the Nocable.it Race team and finishes fifth in the final standings.
2006: Moves up to the 250cc class riding for Gilera. Finishes the season in 10th overall with a sixth place finish at the Chinese Grand Prix his best result.
2008: June – Wins his first 250cc race at the Italian GP in Mugello in controversial circumstances when Hector Barbera crashed into him after Simoncelli appeared to try to block him off.
October – Wins the 250cc World Championship after a successful season with Gilera with a third place finish in the Malaysian Grand Prix at Sepang.
2009: Finishes third overall in the 250cc World Championship behind Japan’s Hiroshi Aoyama and Spain’s Barbera.
2010: Moves up to ride in his debut MotoGP season for Honda. Finishes 16 of the 18 races en route to eighth place in the championship.
2011:May – Collides with Dani Pedrosa while battling for second in the French GP. The resulting crash saw Pedrosa break his collarbone and Simoncelli receive a ride-through penalty, eventually finishing fifth. Simoncelli accepted he needed to re-evaluate his driving style and at times be more cautious.
June – Claims his first MotoGP pole at the Catalan GP but a poor start resulted in a sixth placed finish.
October 23 – Killed in a crash during the Malaysian GP in Sepang.