R.I.P: Marco Simoncelli (Moto GP)

Yes, this is why I worry about Edwards and Rossi - I hope it doesn't catch up.

 

While I don't think either rider will retire over this, it will almost certainly be something that weighs on them for the rest of their careers.

Edwards has a couple of kids, while Rossi and his girlfriend will have their first in a few months. That might make both of them think about it, and if they do that while actually riding, they may as well retire.

Both Edwards and Rossi have been around fatal accidents before, both in MotoGP and at Suzuka 8-hours. I don't think either one have been personally involved in a fatal accident though.

 

Really sad.... RIP Marco

 

I agree that they probably won't retire, although my hope would be they would.

 

Such a horrible accident...you can see the distress in Rossi's body language towards the end of the clip. He knew something went very wrong and as emotional of a guy as he is, it's going to take him a very long time to emotionally recover. I went to his site this morning and there is a single quote from him. Hopefully Colin will recover completely as well after dislocating his shoulder in the accident. Marco was one of those guys that brought back some entertainment to the sport that has been a little dormant the last few years. He was wild and fun, and all in good spirits. To say the 24 year old will be missed is a huge understatement. Godspeed Super Sic...
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A sad day for the motor gp community
RIP MARCO.

 

I think this photo of Rossi says it all.
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RIP Marco

I never watched MotoGP as much as F1 but SIC was my favorite rider! He sure will be missed

 

I cannot imagine what Rossi and Edwards are feeling right now. To know you were involved in a fatal accident (in Rossi's case, of a friend) has to be an enormous weight on your shoulders. Yes, it was purely accidental, but nonetheless. How Rossi stayed on two wheels is completely beyond me, but he knew right away that something was very wrong. Same with Edwards, when he got up, his reaction clearly stated to me that he knew something was very wrong. And then that shot that showed, whom I presume, was Simoncelli's girlfriend in his team's garage, my heart just dropped.

It would not surprise me in the least bit if both Rossi and Edwards walked away from the sport. I hope they don't, but I wouldn't be surprised at all.

 

+1
I'd be shocked if Rossi doesn't ask to be released from AGV as a sponsor.

 

Very sad.
RIP

 

I haven't seen this image before, but it gives a much clearer depiction of the trauma that must have resulted from this accident...
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A terrible crash, but if you go back through the year, it's crashed a couple of time in front of people he was passing. He and Lorenzo crashed in similar circumstances earlier in the year, but fortunately, neither was seriously hurt then. I know some people talked to him about the dangers of those types of crashes. A terrible shame, but that is why this isn't a video game.

I'm sure the pits are totally torn up over this, from what I hear, he was very well liked, and his demise hit home to a lot of people. I'll be at Valencia in a couple of weeks, and I'll ask around about this. I'm sure Rossi isn't going to quit, but I wonder how Edwards' wife is going to react. They have two kids, and I'm sure this brought home to her, the risks involved.

Art

 

I am still confused why Marco tried to hold onto the bike and hopefully right it??? That goes totally against what has been proven in an accident, get that darn thing as far away from you as possible. YET then again the time elapsed was most likey a mere few 1/1000th's of seconds and it could just seem as if he was trying to hold on and correct the bike when in all reality it was mere reflex's?

Either way it is f'd up.

 

I can't make sense of this photo. I can't tell what are legs and what are arms. It looks like Marco has three legs.

 

Right leg on the ground, left leg still over the bike, left arm up between Rossi and Edwards bikes and regrettably, right arm and head on ground under Rossi's bike. It was this impact that torn the helmet off and likely caused the fatal injuries to Simoncelli.

How Rossi stayed on his bike is astounding, as it whipped pretty far sideways upon impact.

 

Unfortunate accident. in this pic, Marco's body is actually facing the camera. His rigth leg is dragging, while the left is still on the bike being hit by Collins front wheel. His torso and head are being hit/run ober by Rossi's front wheel. His head is squeezed between the two bikes. Awfull image.

 

Im.sorry but that is a stupid statement. I for one was physically sickened by the loss but to make a statement about Rossi should rid his AGV contract due to the death....come on. You were not the one to medically work on him so don't jump the gun. Someone stated possibly the strap broke. God bless Simi but remember he had to wear one size larger due to his hair. Statements like he should retire or fire a company that seemed to have been loyal to him due to a speculated thought is wrong.

Let's just keep this to R.I.P for a talented and well liked person.

 

Thanks guys. It hurts my stomach just thinking about this. Obviously I think about Marco and wish this hadn't happened, than his family, and Rossi and Edwards. I cannot begin to imagine the emotions Rossi is experiencing right now.

 

Exactly...the strap broke. How is my comment a "stupid statement" if another rider is putting his head & life on the line if the equipment is inferior? If I'm a car racer and the tires I'm using are shredding under certain loads, chances are I'm no longer going to use the product. I understand that this was a pretty extreme situation, but I think I have a valid point to some extent. Don't start flaming me for giving my opinion.

 

Guys, I thought I'd post this in the hope it might help explain some of what happened to Marco in Sepang.

Firstly on Marco's helmet coming off: There have been a lot of reports ever since Marco came into MotoGP that he had to wear a helmet that was a size bigger than he should have had to accommodate his wild hair style.

I can't guarantee this 100% but I do seem to recall an item on Marco on the BBC's MotoGP coverage in the past where they'd said his helmet was one size bigger due to his hair. This would have made his helmet coming off even more likely in this sort of incident.


For those trying to understand just what happened to Marco, take a look at the video on this site (just be aware that it's still very upsetting to watch!): http://www.autoblog.com/2011/10/23/motogp-rider-marco-simoncelli-dies-in-race-accident-w-video/


The initial footage from Bautista's camera shows Marco's bike sliding out from underneath him on the right hander and start to slide across the track to the left, out of the path of Bautista.

The next footage shows Marco's bike in a more upright position, under what appears to be full power, driving back across the track with Marco clinging on to the side of the bike, right into the path of Edwards and Rossi.

It's not clear if Marco was trying to get the bike back upright to try to keep going with the power still on or if he was just unlucky in the way the bike was resting on him and the throttle had jammed open, it's a question that shall forever remain unanswered I suspect.



I take no pleasure in watching the footage to be honest as it's as traumatic to Me as the footage of Gilles Villeneuve being thrown from his car at Zolder, but it does help to explain some of how it all went so wrong.


As for:

Valentino Rossi :

"Sic was like a younger brother to me. He was as tough on the track as he was sweet in life. I still can't believe it, I'll miss him hugely."

You're not the only one Vale!

 

Looks to me like he was hanging on hoping not to dump the bike. At that point, the front tire must have regained traction and at that point he was a passenger.

Just terrible. For me, this is worse than seeing the Gilles video. This reminds me of - and I saw this on the news when it happened - Gordon Smiley. While Smiley's accident was far more violent, this video clearly shows Simoncelli at the time of impact, and you can see his limp body on the track, which is just horrifying.

I feel nothing but sadness watching this.

 

It seems a bit early to blame the helmet manufacturer, as there is much that remains unknown. A helmet will not protect the wearer in all cases. Should it have come off...no. Did it come off because of Simoncelli's hair requiring a larger size? Maybe a contributing factor. It take a great deal of force to take a properly fastened and fitted helmet off of someone's head, possibly requiring the breaking of the wearer's jaw bone. If the strap is found in someways to have been flawed or "inferior" then AGV has a problem, but we do not know that at this time. I would believe that this is why others have expressed disagreement with your position that Rossi will want out of his AGv contract.

 

I don't know if his hair required a larger size or not, but I do know that if you can put your fingers up to the top of your cheeks with a helmet, you've gotten too large a size. However, most of these helmets are hand fitted for technicians at the track, with years of experience, that should have made sure that the helmet fit properly. If not, there could be trouble for AGV. However, since they sponsored him, I believe that their sponsorship agreement provides for a release.

If the strap broke, then you have an example of the force necessary to remove the helmet, and I suspect that with that level of force, his demise was guaranteed.

Bottom line with motorcycle racing: without a cage around you, at speeds ranging from 60 mph to 200 mph, death or paralysis is always a risk, and from my experience, the lower the speed, the higher the potential for injury.

Art

 

It happened so quickly that I think your statement about reflexes is most likely. He got too deep into the corner and his knee kinked up on the curb and it was like the front tire dug in and took over from there. Probably some amount of it was going for a ridiculous save, but I doubt he thought it was a decision that would cost him his life.