Sunday morning here in Valencia marks the final race of the 2011 MotoGP Championship, and the already bittersweet Grand Prix will become increasingly somber as the GP paddock will also be paying its final respects to Marco Simoncelli. Starting at 10:10am, 125GP, Moto2, and MotoGP riders will partake in a parade lap around the Circuito de la Comunitat Valenciana. The procession will be lead by Kevin Schwantz, who will ride Marco Simoncelli’s San Carlo Honda Gresini RC212V race bike for the occasion.
According to the press release issued by Dorna & the FIM, GP riders will stop short of the finish line on the parade lap. On the other side of the finish line, Simoncelli’s family along with local Spanish authorities and representatives from Dorna, IRTA and the FIM will congregate, where then a two-minute Valencian Mascletà (a traditional firecracker display) will take place.
This plan seemingly replaces the one minute of revving motors that was communicated by Dorna, which will come as a disappointment since the #MakeNoiseForMarcoSunday Twitter campaign continues to pick up steam. Hopefully GP rides will aid the fireworks in sending SuperSic off (read: prod them on Twitter).
Source: FIM; Artwork: Jason Phan
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