Monday, October 24 2011
Marco brought us all some superb moments. His fan club at Silverstone was one of the highlights for us, we feel that these pics of the guys show the joy that Marco brought everyone.
Right: A selection of Marco Simoncelli fans at Silverstone in 2010.
What a brave, talented rider; and an all round top bloke. Race fast in the sky Marco.
MARCO SIMONCELLI: 1987 – 2011
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.
2002: Wins the European 125cc title.
2003: 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.
October 23 – Killed in a crash during the Malaysian GP in Sepang.
The Official Marco Simoncelli Fan Site can be found here
