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A Minute of Noise for Marco Simoncelli

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The MotoGP paddock has reconvened in Valencia for its final round of the 2011 season, and percolating at the top of everyone’s mind here is the passing of Marco Simoncelli. While the Italian’s death has been talked about non-stop the past week or so, with the MotoGP community together again for the first time since SuperSic’s passing, the emotions here are still very raw (A&R is coming to you live from Valencia, Spain this race weekend).

With the riders unanimous on the importance of racing, and everyone honoring Simoncelli in his or her own way, the final official tribute to Marco will come on Sunday at 10:15am local time. In a more fitting manner to honor Marco Simoncelli, over the course of MotoGP’s tribute there will be a minute of noise, in lieu of the usual minute of silence. Suggested by Marco’s father, Paolo Simoncelli, the celebration of SuperSic’s career will be a boisterous affair, with presumably all the bikes in the paddock revving their motors to honor the Italian racer.

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Racing

San Carlo Honda Gresini Will Race in Valencia

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Immediately following the tragic death of Marco Simoncelli, Fausto Gresini of the San Carlo Honda Gresini team was quoted saying that he wasn’t sure if his team could finish the Championship in Valencia without Simoncelli. With an outpouring of fans at Simoncelli’s funeral, and words of encouragement from around the world, the Italian team has decided that it will honor Marco’s memory and race in Spain this weekend.

While the #58 bike will sit in the pit box in memorial, Hiroshi Aoyama will ride the lone Honda RC212V for the Gresini team at the Valencian GP. Gresini’s Moto2 riders Michele Pirro and Yuki Takahashi will also race, as the trio will try to honor their teammate’s memory.

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Racing

Photo of the Week: You Gave Everything

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At the inaugural GP of India for Formula One, a moment of silence was observed for Marco Simoncelli and Dan Wheldon, and while I wondered how many among the F1 audience had ever heard of Marco, it was a fine gesture and certainly appreciated by the MotoGP community.

This week has been largely about trying to move on after the accident at Sepang, but that has proved very difficult to do for me and my colleagues, friends, and as yet unmet fellow MotoGP fans. I continue to receive requests for Simoncelli photos from increasingly obscure connections, in addition to those from close friends who want something with which to remember Marco.

I ran across this image from Catalunya, which helps put the loss in a proper context. The translation, provided at the time by a linguistically gifted friend on the Dorna staff, was something like: You gave everything because you loved. Certainly a 58 will appear beside the numbers of Shoya Tomizawa and Daijiro Kato if this fellow redoes his banner next season. And in all three cases, we are left to wonder what excitements and triumphs we might have witnessed had fate allowed 74, 48, & 58 to contest more Grand Prix races.

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Opinion/Editorial

Some Closing Thoughts About Marco Simoncelli

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It has taken me a week to collect my thoughts and process the passing of Marco Simoncelli, the San Carlo Gresini Honda rider that lost his life during the MotoGP race in Malaysia. I’m not one of those journalists that can belt out some poignant thoughts on an event immediately after it happens, nor did I personally know Simoncelli well enough to offer a comprehensive anecdote on the man’s short but distinguished life. Having only met and talked to Marco briefly a few times, I cannot shed some deeper insight regarding who he was as a man, stripped away of all the pomp, prestige, and PR spin of the premier class.

I’ve heard the MotoGP paddock described as a family or village, so as one of its most recent members, this tragedy both cuts me deeply, but yet also seems like a distant and surreal event. Perhaps it will affect me more as I travel to Valencia this week, or perhaps I will continue to feel as if I am on the outside looking in at cataclysm of grief that has befallen friends, acquaintances, and strangers. Time will tell in that regard, and I’ll leave it to those masters of the pen who are better suited to the task to account for the young Italian’s life and racing career.

Instead my closing thoughts about Marco Simoncelli are a mixed commentary of life, tragedy, and where we go from here.

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Racing

Colin Edwards Will Miss Valencian GP – Replacement?

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Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team rider Colin Edwards will miss the 2011 MotoGP Championship’s final round in Valencia next weekend, as the 37-year-old Texan will require surgery on his left arm after the tragic three-rider incident at the Malaysian GP that ended the life of Marco Simoncelli. Edwards was assessed by orthopedic specialist Dr. Henry Small at the University General Hospital in Houston on Wednesday, and it was confirmed that the veteran MotoGP rider has multiple small fractures to the top of his left humerus bone, as well as damage to the cartilage around the tip of the humerus bone.

Also suffering severe bruising and swelling to both wrists as well as his right heel in the accident, Edwards was fortunate not to sustain any additional fractures in these areas. Scheduled to undergo surgery on Tuesday next week, the required four-week recovery period will preclude Edwards from competing in the Valenican GP, and Monster Yamaha Tech 3 is currently considering a replacement rider for the Texas Tornado. With 2011 the last season Edwards was to race with Tech 3, this end to the season is certainly not how either party wanted to end their relationship together.

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Racing

Honda Gresini to Attend Valencian GP – Racing Uncertain

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While it is still not clear whether the San Carlo Honda Gresini team will race with Hiroshi Aoyama in the upcoming Valencian GP, the Gresini Racing team has confirmed it will at least travel to the final MotoGP round. The Gresini Racing team has confirmed that many members of the San Carlo Honda Gresini MotoGP team will be present at the spanish track, and that the customary team pit box will be setup with Marco Simoncelli’s #58 Honda RC212V on display to tribute the fallen rider.

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Racing

Rumors of Valentino Rossi’s Retirement Have Been Greatly Exaggerated

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After the tragic events at the cancelled Malaysian GP, and the subsequent tragic death of Marco Simoncelli, there were whispers regarding whether Valentino Rossi and/or Colin Edwards would retire after the incident that cut-short SuperSic’s life. These whispers and thoughts turned into idle chatter, which then lead to unfounded speculation.

It is of course only natural in this FOX News world that we live in that every possible angle and outcome be explored before any sort of precedent for those mental exercises presents themselves. Perhaps a lessen on the difficulties of basic human communication, even the most well-intended and honest speculation can be misperceived and distorted as it is retold, which in this case lead to a mass hysteria that the nine-time World Champion would retire from MotoGP racing.

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Racing

Photo of the Week: SuperSic Forever

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As a 250cc rider, Marco Simoncelli struck me as being very talented, but also a grave danger to his fellow riders. In the 250GP races in which Simoncelli participated, he was always the wild card, and one never knew what he might do in his spirited attempts to win. As the list of other riders who’d narrowly escaped serious injury in on-track incidents with Marco grew, I developed a profound dislike for how he behaved on track, and I thought that this behavior indicated what type of person he was.

But as I gained access to the MotoGP paddock, and found opportunities to glimpse the riders’ personalities, Marco Simoncelli was one of the first for whom I recognized that I could not draw such conclusions based solely on what I saw on TV.

On a motorcycle, Simoncelli was ferocious, as the cat on the back of his helmet indicated. In person he was soft spoken, gentle, quick to smile and generous. Always a gracious participant with Riders for Health fundraising events, he courageously faced crowds who spoke no Italian and charmed them in his accented and limited English. He signed whatever people asked of him, and posed for photos with patience and grace.

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Racing

Marco Simoncelli 1987 – 2011

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Marco Simoncelli has tragically died today, after crashing in a horrific accident during the second lap of the Malaysian GP. Trading corners with Rizla Suzuki rider Álvaro Bautista and battling for fourth place, Simoncelli began the race in Sepang with his usual full-of-heart riding style. Certainly a podium contender for the day, the Italian lost control of his motorcycle in Turn 11 after losing the front. Propping the bike on his knee in order to save the slide, Simoncelli heroically but unfortunately stayed upright, cut back across the track, and collided with fellow racers Colin Edwards and Valentino Rossi.

While Rossi rode away unhurt, and Edwards injured only his shoulder, Simoncelli suffered the brunt of the impact, and lay helmetless on the track after the incident. Despite the best efforts of the medical staff at Sepang, Simoncelli could not be resuscitated and succumb to his injuries at 4:56pm local time. Accordingly the Malaysian GP has been cancelled. Asphalt & Rubber joins the MotoGP paddock in mourning the loss of one the most beloved riders in series, and send our thoughts and prayers to Marco’s family, friends, team, and loved ones.

Ciao Marco, SuperSic forever.

Photo: © 2011 Scott Jones Photography – All Rights Reserved

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MotoGP: Malaysian GP Cancelled

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After a tragic accident involving Marco Simoncelli, Colin Edwards, and Valentino Rossi, MotoGP has decided not to resume the Malaysian GP. The decision came down as Marco Simoncelli battled for his life at the track-side medical center, with Race Direction stating that it would be inappropriate to restart the race while Simoncelli was in such a precarious position medically. Succumbing to his injuries shortly after the cancellation was announced, heartbreak swept the paddock with the news that Marco Simoncelli died at the age of 24.

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Racing

MotoGP: Qualifying Shows Some Surprises at Phillip Island

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With suspicious skies, qualifying for MotoGP’s Australian GP got underway today. With the weather always variable at Phillip Island, riders saw sun, clouds, and a light spitting of rain before taking to the qualifying session. Normally a favorite track with the GP riders, Phillip Island has been plagued with a bumpy and torn-up surface, which dominated the discussion after Friday’s debriefings. With the Australian track announcing that the GP circuit would be resurfaced before the 2013 season, there is at least a remedy on the way, though it doesn’t bode well for the 2012 Australian GP.

Despite the surface conditions, Casey Stoner primarily lead the charge through the Free Practice sessions, though not in as dominant of a fashion as one would have expected. Finishing FP3 just over half a second quicker than Lorenzo, Stoner is still the paddock favorite to win tomorrow’s race, though his chances of clinching the Championship here at home seem slim. Able to keep the Australian within their reach, Jorge Lorenzo and Marco Simoncelli have given Stoner chase, though none of them have been able to take the top position on the timesheet from the Aussie.

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