Sunday, October 23 2011
Marco Simoncelli has died from the injuries he sustained in a crash on the second lap of the Malaysian Grand Prix. He was 24.
Simoncelli was fighting for fourth with Alvaro Bautista when he lost the front of his bike and slid across the circuit, into the path of Colin Edwards and Valentino Rossi, both of whom appeared to hit the Honda.
He lay stricken on the track after the crash, his helmet having come off during the incident.
He was taken by ambulance to the circuit’s medical centre, but at 4.56 it was announced he had succumbed to his injuries
Simoncelli’s fatality raised the number of recorded deaths in MotoGP to 47 since it was founded in 1949.
MotoGP race director Paul Butler pledged to investigate the circumstances surrounding the accident while Sepang circuit chairman Mokhzani Mahathir voiced his condolences and said it was unfortunate that a death occurred for the first time since the circuit opened in 1999.
Our thoughts with his family & friends – he was a great sportsman will be sadly missed by the whole biking community.
Tragic. He was great to watch and had amazing potential