Marco Simoncelli

Career

Early career

Simoncelli was born in Cattolica but grew up and lived in Coriano with his family since childhood. He started racing minibikes at the age of seven in his hometown of Coriano, moving on to the Italian Minimoto Championship in 1996 at the early age of nine. He won the Italian Minimoto Championship in 1999 and 2000 while also became the runner-up in the 2000 European Minimoto Championship. The following year, he stepped up to the Italian 125cc Championship and he won the title in his rookie year. In 2002, he competed and won the European 125cc Championship.

125cc World Championship

After a successful European 125cc campaign, in August 2002, Simoncelli made his first Grand Prix appearance with Matteoni Racing, replacing Czech rider Jaroslav Huleš who stepped up to the 250cc class. Simoncelli, riding an Aprilia bike with the number 37, managed to finish in 27th place in his first race at Brno. In the following race at Estoril, he scored his first championship points by finishing in 13th place. However, he failed to score any points in the next four races and finished the season with three points from six races.

Simoncelli continued with the Matteoni Racing Team for his first full season in 2003. That season, he also started to use the iconic number 58 on his bike. He managed to score points in six races with a best result of fourth at Valencia, the last race of the season. Overall, he scored 31 points and ranked 21st in the final championship standings.

In the 2004 season, Simoncelli switched to WorldwideRace team under the name of Rauch Bravo, which also run an Aprilia bike. In the second race of the season at Jerez, Simoncelli recorded his first pole position. In the race, which was held in wet conditions, Simoncelli was in second place when race leader Casey Stoner crashed out with three laps remaining, handing Simoncelli his first victory. However, the victory was his only podium finish for the season. He managed to score points in seven other races with a best result of sixth. He ended in 11th place in the final standings with 79 points.

Simoncelli continued to ride for WorldwideRace in 2005, this time under the Nocable.it Race banner. In the opening race at Jerez, he qualified first and then won the race for his second successive win at Jerez. Despite failing to add another win that season, Simoncelli finished on the podium on five other occasions. His consistency earned him 177 points and a fifth place in the final standings.

250cc World Championship

In 2006, Simoncelli stepped up to the 250cc class, becoming the only rider from the top eight in previous year's 125cc class to make the step up. He joined the Metis Gilera team, an Italian motorcycle manufacturer who returned to the intermediate class after a lengthy absence. His first season saw him end most of the races he finished between 7th and 10th place. His best result was 6th place in the Chinese Grand Prix at Shanghai. He fought for the "Rookie of the Year" title until the end, finally losing to Shuhei Aoyama by seven points, finishing 10th overall.

In 2007, Simoncelli continued with the same team. His season was similar to the previous one and he was again 10th in the final standings, without a podium finish.

Simoncelli had his first 250cc win at the Italian Grand Prix held at Mugello on 1 June 2008 Barberá then crashed into him and Simoncelli won the race by 3 seconds.

On 8 June 2008, Simoncelli followed up his Italian victory at the Catalan Grand Prix after overtaking Álvaro Bautista on the last lap after Bautista ran wide with 5 corners of the race left. Simoncelli obtained his third 250cc GP victory at the Sachsenring in the German Grand Prix on 13 July 2008 when he beat Bautista and Barberá by approximately 2.5 seconds. He also won in his class at the 2008 Australian motorcycle Grand Prix held on 3–5 October 2008, narrowly defeating Bautista.

On 19 October 2008, Simoncelli won the 2008 250cc World Championship after finishing 3rd in the Malaysian Grand Prix at Sepang.

Superbike World Championship

Simoncelli made a one-off appearance for Aprilia in the World Superbike round at Imola in . He qualified on the second row and was one of three riders to crash out of race one at Tosa while running fifth, before fighting through to third in race two, making a forceful move to overtake teammate Max Biaggi to get onto the podium.

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.

MotoGP World Championship

2010

Simoncelli got off to a slow start to the 2010 season, having suffered two preseason testing crashes at Sepang; the second of which cracked his helmet. After finishing eleventh on début, Simoncelli improved over the rest of the season, finishing 16 of the 18 races in the points en route to eighth place in the championship with 125 points. His best finish was a fourth place in Portugal, missing a podium by 0.06 seconds to Andrea Dovizioso.

2011

In the 2011 season, Simoncelli was promoted to ride a factory Honda as part of the Gresini team, whilst Hiroshi Aoyama rode a satellite Honda for the team. Simoncelli was predicted to be the surprise package of the season. He finished fifth in the season opening race in Qatar, before falling from the lead of the wet race at Jerez. He secured his highest starting position to that point of second, before falling on the first lap of the Estoril race. During the French Grand Prix at Le Mans, Simoncelli collided with Dani Pedrosa while they were battling for second. The resulting crash saw Pedrosa break his collarbone and Simoncelli received a ride-through penalty, eventually finishing fifth. Simoncelli initially rejected blame for the crash, claiming he braked no later than normal, and that he left Pedrosa room. Before the next race, however, he accepted that he needed to reflect on his riding style.

Simoncelli was required to meet with race direction before the start of the racing weekend at Catalonia. On the track, Simoncelli secured his first MotoGP pole position, 0.016 seconds ahead of Casey Stoner. However, a poor start saw him drop to seventh managing only to recover one position to finish sixth. Simoncelli earned his first podium in the premier class, with a third place in the Czech Republic. His best MotoGP finish was second place in the Australian GP at Phillip Island.

Death

On 23 October 2011, Simoncelli was involved in a collision with American rider Colin Edwards and fellow Italian Valentino Rossi during the Malaysian Grand Prix at the Sepang International Circuit. In fourth position during lap two, Simoncelli's bike lost traction in Turn 11 and it started to slide towards the gravel, but the tires regained traction and his bike suddenly veered across the track into the path of Edwards and Rossi, with Simoncelli hanging down on the right side; Edwards and Rossi were unable to prevent collision.

Simoncelli lost his helmet and Edwards was catapulted from his bike. The race was immediately red-flagged. Edwards suffered a dislocated shoulder. Simoncelli sustained serious trauma to the head, to the neck and the chest and was taken by ambulance to the circuit's medical centre. He was administered CPR for 45 minutes, but at 16:56 local time, less than an hour after the accident, it was announced that he had died from his injuries.

His body was flown home to Italy, accompanied by his father Paolo, his fiancée Kate Fretti, and Valentino Rossi. The family were greeted by Italian Olympic Committee president Giovanni Petrucci, before the body was transported to a theatre in Coriano, Rimini, where it was placed in an open coffin. Fans and visitors were then allowed to pay their respects, in a walk-through memorial that included his 250cc World Championship winning Gilera, plus his 2011 MotoGP Honda. An estimated 20,000 people attended his funeral at the Santa Maria Assunta parish church in Coriano on 27 October 2011, which was broadcast live on Italia 1 and Rai 2.

Legacy

Valentino Rossi was so devastated by the loss of his close friend and his role in it that it became the trigger that caused the creation of Rossi's racing Academy project VR46 to mentor Italian riders. The Rossi academy aims to ensure that his and Simoncelli's intertwined legacies will live on far beyond their racing careers. MotoGP riders Pecco Bagnaia, Franco Morbidelli, Luca Marini and Marco Bezzecchi are VR46 academy graduates. Regarding the creation of the academy, Rossi has said "I always say that Marco was the first rider of the Academy, even if the Academy didn't exist."

On 3 November 2011, the Misano World Circuit announced plans to rename itself in honour of Simoncelli, and it did so the following year. At the final Grand Prix of the season in Valencia, Spain, a tribute lap on race morning was held in honour of Simoncelli, with riders from all three Grand Prix classes taking part along with 500cc World Champion Kevin Schwantz, who rode Simoncelli's bike.

Tributes were made in Formula One with Sebastian Vettel dedicating his victory in the 2011 Indian Grand Prix to Simoncelli and IndyCar Series driver Dan Wheldon, who died at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway, the weekend before, during the 2011 IZOD IndyCar World Championship. A minute's silence was held at the Grand Prix in memory of Wheldon and Simoncelli. At the 2012 Malaysian Grand Prix, Ferrari drivers Felipe Massa and Fernando Alonso, along with other members of the team paid tribute to Simoncelli by returning to turn 11 and having a group photo with a banner in remembrance.

On the same day of the accident, all Serie A football matches in Italy held one minute of silence in remembrance of Simoncelli as instructed by the president of the Italian Olympic Committee, Petrucci.

On 20 January 2012, the anniversary of Simoncelli's birth, it was announced at a ceremony in his home town Coriano that the town's sports area would be renamed "Palazzetto dello Sport Marco Simoncelli", and that one of the town's bus routes would be re-numbered 58 in his honour.

In 2013, his father Paolo Simoncelli announced the formation of Sic58 Squadra Corse in honor of Marco. The team was created to help young Italian riders develop in the lower levels of Grand Prix racing. The team originally raced in Italian Moto3 series before moving up to the FIM CEV Moto3 Junior World Championship in 2015 and later into the FIM Moto3 World Championship in 2017.

On Thursday 12 September 2013 in Coriano a tribute took place for Marco Simoncelli with a flame and a monument for Marco Simoncelli called "Every Sunday" and every Sunday at nightfall the flame will burn for 58 seconds.

On 23 October 2013, AC Milan paid a tribute to Simoncelli by posting on their Google+ profile, a photo of their jersey in their dressing room with Simoncelli's name on the back.

On 3 February 2014, it was announced that Simoncelli would be posthumously inducted into the MotoGP Hall of Fame and become the 21st MotoGP Legend. The ceremony took place at the Italian round in Mugello.

On 8 September 2016, it was announced that Simoncelli's racing number 58 would be retired from all classes of Grand Prix racing competition. It was the third number to be retired from all classes of Grand Prix racing competition, after Kevin Schwantz's #34 (Schwantz's number was used by Andrea Dovizioso until he moved up to MotoGP, and was last used by Esteve Rabat during his Moto2 debut season in 2011) and Daijiro Kato's #74 (Kato's number remains available for wildcard entries in the 125cc/Moto3 class, albeit since the 2013 season no one has used the number again). CEO of Dorna Carmelo Ezpeleta led a ceremony of remembrance ahead of the Misano GP 2016 race weekend stating: "Today we say to Marco's father, Paolo, that from now this number belongs to the Simoncelli family. Nobody will use it, unless they decide somebody can use this number."

Career statistics

CIV 125cc Championship

Races by year

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Grand Prix motorcycle racing

By season

Races by year

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position, races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Superbike World Championship

Races by year

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position, races in italics indicate fastest lap)

References

References

1. (28 October 2011). "Marco Simoncelli: Career Achievements". [[Dorna Sports]].
2. (24 October 2011). "Quel clone di Valentino con la faccia da cabaret nascosta in un cespuglio". Il Giornale.
3. (23 October 2011). "Accendere la moto e andare è stata la lezione di Marco Simoncelli". L'Occidentale.
4. (23 October 2011). "Simoncelli muore in pista a Sepang". Corriere dello Sport.
5. (24 October 2011). "Valentino Rossi pays tribute to Marco Simoncelli". BBC.
6. (24 August 2002). "2002 Gauloises GP Ceske Republiky: 125cc Entry List". [[Dorna Sports]].
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8. (8 September 2002). "2002 GP Marlboro de Portugal: 125cc Race Classification". [[Dorna Sports]].
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10. (4 April 2003). "2003 SKYY VODKA Grand Prix of Japan: 125cc Entry List". [[Dorna Sports]].
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12. (2 November 2003). "2003 GP Marlboro Comunitat Valencia: 125cc World Championship Classification". [[Dorna Sports]].
13. (19 November 2003). "Ready to start for the season 2004". Tinfo s.r.l..
14. (1 May 2004). "Weather delivers Simoncelli first 125 pole". crash.net.
15. (2 May 2004). "Stoner heartbreak hands Simoncelli 125 win". crash.net.
16. (31 October 2004). "2004 GP Marlboro Comunitat Valencia: 125cc World Championship Classification". [[Dorna Sports]].
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19. (6 November 2005). "2005 G. P. betandwin.com Comunitat Valencia: 125cc World Championship Classification". [[Dorna Sports]].
20. (23 March 2006). "2006 Gran Premio betandwin.com de España: 250cc Entry List". [[Dorna Sports]].
21. (21 February 2006). "Squadra corse Metis Gilera". Caval Service Group.
22. (25 June 2009). "Simoncelli signs with Gresini". Carole Nash.
23. (1 February 2011). "Difficult 2010 debut now a distant memory". crash.net.
24. Roberts, Matt. (15 February 2011). "Huge honour to lead MotoGP coverage". BBC.
25. (3 April 2011). "Lorenzo wins crash-crazy Spanish GP". crash.net.
26. (1 May 2011). "Pedrosa picks his moment for Estoril win". crash.net.
27. (15 May 2011). "Stoner flawless amid French drama". crash.net.
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29. (1 June 2011). "Simoncelli hoping to turn the page at Barcelona". [[Dorna Sports]].
30. Birt, Matthew. (31 May 2011). "Marco Simoncelli to face Race Direction in Catalunya". [[Motor Cycle News]].
31. (4 June 2011). "Simoncelli soars to first pole at Catalunya". [[Dorna Sports]].
32. (14 August 2011). "Stoner conquers the Czech Republic". [[Dorna Sports]].
33. (26 October 2011). "Racing mourns loss of MotoGP's brightest light". [[Motor Cycle News]].
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35. (23 October 2011). "Simoncelli dies from injuries suffered in Malaysian GP crash". [[Haymarket Group.
36. (23 October 2011). "Simoncelli dies after horrific crash". [[TF1 Group]].
37. (23 October 2011). "Race Direction press conference: Marco Simoncelli". [[Dorna Sports]].
38. (27 October 2011). "L'ultimo saluto a Marco Simoncelli in 20.000 assistono al funerale". [[Wind Telecomunicazioni.
39. (23 October 2021). "'I was desperate' - Rossi on losing Simoncelli and creating VR46".
40. (3 November 2011). "Misano circuit name to be associated with Simoncelli". [[Dorna Sports]].
41. (5 November 2011). "Kevin Schwantz to lead Marco Simoncelli tribute lap".
42. (30 October 2011). "Jenson Button dedicates Indian GP to Dan Wheldon and Marco Simoncelli". BBC.
43. (22 March 2012). "Malaysian Grand Prix 2012: Ferrari pay tribute to Marco Simoncelli at Sepang International Circuit". [[The Daily Telegraph]].
44. Bartelloni, Cristiano. (23 October 2011). "Marco Simoncelli morto: il ricordo della Serie A". Trilud S.p.A..
45. (20 January 2012). "Coriano pays tribute to Simoncelli on his birthday". MotoGP.com.
46. (17 February 2016). "Paolo Simoncelli Talks About His SIC 58 Squadra Corse Race Team in Spain". RoadRacingWorld.com.
47. Rosati, Gianmaria. (25 January 2017). "Moto3, Sic58 arrives in the world championship with Arbolino and Suzuki". GPOne.com.
48. (2013-09-12). "Flaming Monument Erected To Honor Marco Simoncelli, R.I.P". Roadracingworld.com.
49. (23 October 2013). "Simoncelli". AC Milan.