Remembering Marco Simoncelli, four years on

Ahead of this weekend’s Malaysian motorcycle Grand Prix, let’s take the time to look back at a tragic event that took place at the Sepang International Circuit four years ago.

It was on October 23, 2011, in the 17th round of the motorcycle racing season, that rising Italian rider Marco Simoncelli was involved in a fatal accident that would not only end his career, but tragically also take his life, at just 24 years of age.

He had just come off a second placing at the Australian MotoGP the previous weekend, finishing only behind the eventual world champion for that season, Casey Stoner.

This was his second year racing in the MotoGP category after previously racing in the 125cc and 250cc divisions between 2002-05 and 2006-09 respectively. His racing career was only just getting started.

But barely a minute or two into the Malaysian race, while running fourth, Simoncelli’s bike lost traction on the 11th turn in the second lap, causing him to hang off it in a very dangerous position.

Subsequently, he was struck by Colin Edwards in the lower part of his body and by Valentino Rossi in the head. Following the incident, in which his helmet flew off his head as a result of the collision with Rossi, the race was red flagged after just two laps and thus abandoned.

WARNING: Video contains graphic content

Despite the best efforts of doctors, who immediately attended to Simoncelli after the incident, the Italian sadly succumbed to his injuries just before 5pm local time.

Edwards suffered a dislocated shoulder in the collision, while Rossi, who currently leads the standings with two races to go in this year’s MotoGP season, escaped any serious injury, even managing to stay on his bike.

Simoncelli’s death came just a week after British driver Dan Wheldon lost his life in an even more horrific accident at the IndyCar World Championship in Las Vegas, in which his car was involved in a 15-car pile-up on the 11th lap.

It was also the first death in MotoGP since local driver Daijiro Kato was killed at the Japanese event in 2003, and the second in professional motorcycle racing in as many years after Shoya Tomizawa was killed in a Moto2 (the level just below MotoGP) event at San Marino in 2010.

The eventual world champion for the 2011 season, Casey Stoner, said of the crash: “When something like this happens you remember how precious life is. I feel sick right through, I can only say my thoughts are for his family.”

Simoncelli’s death was also felt back home in Italy, where a minute’s silence was observed at each Serie A match when news of his passing filtered through in the late morning Italian time.

His body was then flown back home the same week for a funeral which was held four days later, attracted 20,000 mourners and was broadcast live on Italian television.

A week later, the Misano World Circuit, where the Italian motorcycle Grand Prix is held annually, was renamed in his honour. Simoncelli’s last race at his home event resulted in a fifth placing, his equal second-best result in MotoGP at the time.

The tributes to him didn’t stop there – on what would have been his 25th birthday on January 20, 2012, a sports town in Coriano was renamed Palazzetto dello Sport Marco Simoncelli, and one of the tram routes in the area was re-numbered 58, the number he wore throughout his promising but short MotoGP career.

At the Malaysian Formula One Grand Prix in March 2012 (also held at the Sepang International Circuit), Ferrari’s Felipe Massa and Fernando Alonso, among others, posed for a photo at the very turn where Simoncelli was killed, holding up a banner saying “Sic [short for Simoncelli] sempre con noi”, meaning “Forever with us”.

The crash at the 2011 Malaysian motorcycle Grand Prix is one of many sporting accidents worldwide to be captured on camera. As mentioned before, it occurred just a week after Wheldon was killed in Las Vegas.

And nearly twelve months ago, Australian cricketer Phillip Hughes was struck in the head by an accidental bouncer from Sean Abbott in a Sheffield Shield Test match; this injury would ultimately cut short his life at just 25 years of age.

Four years on, Marco Simoncelli’s legacy will be remembered when the bikes hit the Sepang International Circuit for the penultimate race of the 2015 MotoGP season, with Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo currently locked in a two-horse race for the world championship title.

In what looks set to be a thrilling finish to the season, Italian veteran Rossi leads Spaniard Lorenzo by just 11 points, meaning the stage is set for a blockbuster final race at Valencia next month.

Defending world champion Marc Marquez cannot successfully retain his title as he is currently 63 points in arrears of Lorenzo, but he is guaranteed to finish third as he is 34 points clear of Italian Andrea Iannone.

Australian Jack Miller is ranked 18th with 17 championship points to his name.

But while all is set for what shapes as a dramatic and thrilling conclusion to the 2015 MotoGP season, it’s obvious that the memory and legacy of Marco Simoncelli will be deep in the thoughts of most of the riders this weekend.

Because as Formula One rider Fernando Alonso said in 2012: “After the accident of Marco here last year, racing here will now always be sad.”