Marco Simoncelli sadly passed away on Sunday after sustaining critical head and neck injuries on the second lap of the MotoGP race at Sepang in Malaysia.
The Italian was battling it out for fourth place with Alvaro Bautista when he lost the front end of the bike at turn 11. Normally a rider would just carry on sliding out towards the gravel traps if he loses the front end, but unfortunately for Marco the front wheel gripped the tarmac again pulling him straight into the path of Colin Edwards and Valentino Rossi.
Edwards and Rossi collided with Simoncelli almost simultaneously, dislodging his helmet in the process and leaving him lying in the middle of the track. Edwards only suffered a dislocated shoulder while Rossi escaped unharmed.
The race was immediately red flagged and a short while afterwards it was called off. Simoncelli was declared dead at 16:56 local time.
This is the second death in Motorsport in as many weeks following Dan Wheldon’s horrific crash in the IndyCar World Championship and we can only hope that it is the last for a very long time.
Rest in Peace
Marco Simonchelli (20 January 1987 – 23 October 2011)
Pic: tuttomotoriweb.com
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