It is almost the time of the year
where the MotoGP season rolls back to Sepang, Malaysia, on 13th
October. While this season has seen the rise of Marc Marquez and the unlucky
season for both Jorge Lorenzo and Dani Perosa, the seemingly thought is Marc is
indeed talented and fast, barring any bad luck that bestowed upon Dani, he
should be able to win the crown in his debut season.
Coming back to Malaysia, it will
always be remembered by the turbulent crash suffered by Marco Simoncelli. His passion
for racing took away his young and promising life during the violent crash
almost 2 years ago, then aged 24.
He made his debut at the MotoGP
scene in mid-2002, racing for Matteoni Racing in the 125CC category, riding an
Aprilia bike. Though nothing spectacular, he has always managed consistency and
took the step up to 250CC in 2006. His main rivals during his 250CC class would
consist of Shuhei Aoyama, Hector Barbera and Alvaro Bautista. The 4 of team
were always neck to neck during races and would push each other to go even
faster. Marco’s ultimate glory would come in 2008. His speed and daring maneuvers
were nothing short of spectacular, and his consistency in winning races and
scoring important points, ensured that his 3rd place finished at
Sepang would confirmed his victory for the 2008 250CC World Championship. After
another season laden with unnecessary crashes in 2009, Marco would move up to
the premier class of MotoGP, riding for the San Carlo Gresini team. His consistency
in scoring points in 16 out of the 18 races, ensured that he will be riding a
factory bike from Honda in 2011.
Although riding for a satellite Honda
team, being given a factory bike meant that he would be able to challenge for
the top honours with the bigger factory teams. Marco was also predicted to be
the surprise package for the 2011 season, and he never let them down. He had
indeed given many people the surprises but that did not equate to race wins, as
his aggressive riding style had caused himself to be involved with lots of
collisions and crashes. His 2011 season comprised of a pole position in
Catalonia, a 3rd place at Czech Republic, and 2nd place
at Australia. It also comprised of a meeting with race direction before the
Catalonia race, ride-through penalty and occasional collisions with Pedrosa.
The Sepang race in 2011 would be the
last time the world saw the happy-go-lucky Marco Simoncelli riding a bike ever.
A place where he had his best crowning moment in winning his 250CC World
Championship in 2008, he would also meet his untimely death here at Sepang.
During the race, Marco was involved in a collision with Colin Edwards and good
friend Valentino Rossi. His bike was in 4th place and during a
corner, the bike lost traction and it slid out towards the gravel. As commonly
seen when sliding out of corner with loss of traction, it usually mean the end
of the race for the rider. However Marco being the competitive guy that hi
always was, he did not want his race to just end like that. Even though that he
was sliding away, he was trying his best to regain traction with his throttle
control. He succeeded but that was not what he had panned out to be. By regaining
traction, his bike would find the grip on the cornering track and thrust him
across into the path of Edwards and Rossi. Marco was struck in the lower body
by Edwards and in the head and neck by Rossi, which tore off his helmet in the
process. After the collision, Rossi veered off course but regained his
composure and looked behind, he could only shake his head, hoping for the best
for Marco.
With Marco lying face down, strewn
across the track, the race was immediately red-flagged and Marco was sent to
the circuit’s medical centre. It was announced less than an hour later that
Marco had succumbed to his injuries, due to the severe trauma to the head, neck
and chest.
Marco, with his afro and always
smiling face, was always a favourite among the riders and fans. He also had
gained immense respect from sports people for his athletism and personality. As
a tribute to him, a tribute lap was help during the last race in 2011 by all 3
classes taking part. Rossi also rode with a Simoncelli flag in remembrance of
his good friend, while Marco’s bike was ridden by 1993 World Champion, Kevin
Schwantz. The Misano World Circuit was also renamed Simoncelli Circuit, in
honour of the great 58, while a flame monument in Coriano, his hometown, was
erected where the flame will burn every Sunday night for 58 seconds.
As we reached yet another season
without Marco Simoncelli, one could have contemplate on what he could have
achieve, but then it will never happen. He did showed the world that he had
immense talent and speed, even comparable to his compatriot Rossi, but he would
finish doing what he loved best, motor racing, however it would be too
premature.
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