With two races to go before the conclusion of the 2011 World Championship, the title was awarded to Casey Stoner , his second crown and first with Honda, sealed the previous week with his victory at Phillip Island , his home race.
That day the noise of Stoner’s second World title did not turn off the spotlight on Marco Simoncelli , who achieved his best result in the premier class in that race, a brilliant second place on the difficult Australian track.
It was his second podium of the year, and also the second in MotoGP , a class to which he had risen in 2010 after eight years training in 125cc (2002-2005) and 250cc (2006-2009), a category in which he was world champion. (2008).
Simoncelli’s moment had arrived, with the title already decided and after his previous great race, the 2011 Malaysian Grand Prix was a good opportunity to open the victories locker for the rider from Cattolica , who at 24 years old was in the best moment of his career.
What nobody could imagine is that that day, an October 23, like today, a few minutes after eight in the morning in Europe, was going to become one of the saddest and longest days for motorcycling fans.
A fall like hundreds of others that occur in races, apparently without much risk, hit the Italian against the asphalt. The desire and ambition of the young runner, however, led him not to let go of his Honda, to keep clinging to it in the hope of being able to pick it up and continue in the race. From behind, Colin Edwards and Valentino Rossi ran over Marco, and the world stopped.
The charisma of a rebel
But why has a rider who never won a single MotoGP race become a true legend of the sport? For being a rebel, surely, and with an overwhelming charisma.
The first thing that magnetized Simoncelli was his slender appearance, almost 1.85 meters tall, his smile and, above all, his enormous curly hair, which escaped boisterously from under his cap. Those of us who were lucky enough to be able to treat him a little, in addition, were able to discover a young man full of joy, who always had a smile for everyone, even for the Spanish media that stoked him so much for his clashes, first with Álvaro Bautista in 250cc, and then in MotoGP with Jorge Lorenzo and especially Dani Pedrosa .
Marco was like a son to Valentino Rossi , a little brother and that opened the doors of millions of fans around the world, those who idolize #46 . The one from Cattolica never denied that friendship, on the contrary, but he always sought his way and forged a personality so strong that ten years after his death he remains indestructible and remembered by all.
Marco never wanted to be Rossi off the track, nor did he want to be Stoner, Lorenzo or Pedrosa on it, he wanted to be Simoncell i, win over the fans with his charisma and beat his rivals with his talent, a driving that overflowed with passion and, also, , a certain aggressiveness that the sacred cows of the time tried to discourage.
Simoncelli never renounced anything that came from his enormous heart and that rebellion is, surely, what leads ten years after the death of a driver who never won a single race, all of us, absolutely all of us, to continue crying. your absence.
Photo de: Team Gresini
Photo de: Team Gresini
Photo de: Team Gresini
Photo de: Team Gresini
Photo de: Team Gresini
Photo de: Team Gresini
Photo de: Team Gresini
Photo de: Team Gresini
Photo de: Team Gresini
Photo de: Team Gresini
Photo de: Team Gresini
Photo de: Team Gresini
Photo de: Team Gresini
Photo de: Team Gresini
Photo de: Team Gresini
Photo de: Team Gresini
Photo de: Team Gresini
Photo de: Team Gresini
Photo by: Team Gresini
Photo by: Team Gresini
Photo de: Team Gresini
Photo by: Team Gresini
Photo by: Team Gresini
Photo by: Team Gresini
Photo by: Team Gresini
Photo de: Team Gresini
Photo by: Team Gresini
Photo de: Team Gresini
Photo de: Team Gresini
Photo de: Team Gresini
Photo de: Team Gresini
Photo de: Team Gresini
Photo de: Team Gresini
Photo de: Bridgestone Corporation
Photo de: Bridgestone Corporation
Photo de: Team Gresini
Photo de: Team Gresini
Photo de: Bridgestone Corporation
Photo de: Repsol Media
Photo de: Team Gresini
Photo de: Team Gresini
Photo de: Team Gresini
Photo de: Team Gresini
Photo de: Team Gresini
Photo de: Team Gresini
Photo de: Team Gresini
Photo de: Team Gresini
Photo de: Team Gresini
Photo de: Team Gresini
