Today, 23rd October 2012,
marks the first anniversary of the passing of the
Italian motorcycle racing superstar, Marco Simoncelli. His death was
without question the singular most upsetting event in recent race history and
any race fan will be able to tell you exactly where they were when news broke
that he'd lost his fight for life and their immediate feelings thereafter.
I was at a swimming gala in East Yorkshire with my daughter, it
was her landmark first competitive race away from our home pool and I was
following events on twitter. The story unfolded before me, text messages
started arriving from as far afield as Australia asking if I was watching the
tragic news developing.
I was sat on my own at that swim
meet, as we didn't know many people in the swimming club at that point, and I
went through the whole range of emotions as I sat there looking across at Emily
having a great time with her team-mates blissfully unaware that 'Marco
Lemonjelly', as she called him, had lost his life. It was hard to hide the
sadness from one so happy, and in such a proud moment, as she took to the block
for her race.
Loss of life is accepted by spectators and competitors alike as
part of racing, it's always happened and will continue to do so - it's the
nature of our sport - however, it is becoming increasing less and less common.
Freak accidents still happen though and there is nothing that can be done to
prevent them. Shoya Tomizawa and the brilliant Craig Jones to name but two
where a second of time either way would've possibly seen a different outcome. I
still wonder today what Jonesy would've done on a Moto2 bike, it was absolutely
built for him.
I've read lots of tributes and remembrances about Marco today
but this observant and openly honest piece from @GuyHAnderson on twitter sums
up the whole picture of Marco better than I ever could and I whole-heartedly
agree with every word...
Simoncelli’s death was possibly one of the most significant
deaths in premier bike racing for years. Others have died and although
their death had an awful impact, none has lingered longer that the impact of
Simoncelli’s.
But talking about his death is no substitute to talking
about his life.
Simoncelli wasn’t the best rider in MotoGP; that would be
Stoner. He wasn’t the most polished PR-guy in the paddock either; that would be
Rossi. But he was a sum that was greater than his individual parts.
He was a lightening fast rider, a fantastic personality, and a young man having
the time of his life. He was a euphoric whirlwind that appeared to catch
hold of everyone who met him, and just about every bike race fan who saw
him. Undoubtedly he was too much of a good-time nightmare to have been in
F1, and MotoGP seemed to be perfect for him; he was an Italian where both F1
and MotoGP vie with football to be the sport of passion. Only Spain has
arguably a greater passion for racing on two wheels.
The thing is, he was good on a bike. He may have
been influenced by his fellow countryman Rossi in trying obscure and downright
weird lines through corners and often this got him into trouble with the more
orthodox lines the rest of the riders took, but his lines would work. For
him. Sometimes. And that was a major fascination in watching him,
and why it used to be wonderful to watch Rossi too. They both tried
‘another way’ to get around the strip of tarmac faster than anyone else.
I never met Simoncelli so for me to comment on his
personality is unfair to everyone. But those who met him just once gave
to him a little bit of their heart that he has carried with him to his grave; a
small part of everyone who met him died when he died as the piece of heart he
stole from them died too. Those who met him often or worked with him
seemed to be swamped by his good nature, his perfect manners and no doubt his
unstoppable joie de vie. How they and his family feel must be
indescribable.
He wasn’t the best rider on a bike and his “remove brain before
putting helmet on” style didn’t endear him to everyone; his antics in an effort
to win the last ever 250cc World Championship that went to Aoyama were best
described as mis-guided and at worst dangerous. Also the incident with
Dani Pedrosa in 2011 at Le Mans was one of the most controversial moments in
past years. For Simoncelli the incident was put behind him within hours;
for others though the incident lingered and festered in the same way as the
Rossi/Gibernau at Jerez in 2005.
Simoncelli’s legacy is a strange one. He was a World
Champion once in 2008 on the Gilera, but had been correctly identified as a
shining star by HRC, and riding the San Carlos Gresini bike Honda did their
best to give him a full works, factory bike in all but Repsol colours.
Where he would have gone in coming years is a moot point and from some
angles he would have caused team managers and DORNA a very big problem in
finding a full-fat factory bike for his talents at the expense of others.
Others who may have been more boring to watch, but who would have been more
consistent? One thing is apparent, and that’s how far the effect of his
death spread; understandably he was well known throughout motorbike racing, but
exceptionally his death affected motorsport across the world from F1 to NASCAR
to WRC; Simoncelli’s character transcended MotoGP.
Would he have drawn Aprilia back to MotoGP earlier?
Would they have come back with a prototype bike for Simoncelli instead of the
CRT bikes? Or would he have been a Ducati rider that gave them two riders
with equal and realistic chances of winning a championship? There is no
answer to those question and I merely ask them to show how deep the loss runs.
For me, a massive MotoGP fan who looks at WSBK
occasionally, Simoncelli’s WSBK ride at Imola was one of the best I’ve
seen. It was an incredible idea executed perfectly, and probably
confounded his rivals beyond irritation.
Simoncelli died a year ago. I never met him.
But I miss seeing him on my TV. I miss reading about him on the web
and in magazines. I’ll leave the last words to man I’ve also never met,
Lao Tzu, Te Tao Ching
“The flame that burns twice as bright burns half as long.
Thanks Guy, a most fitting tribute to a man sadly missed
by so many.
Thanks for reading and Ciao Marco #58