Marco Simoncelli.

[emjaya]

Italian rider Marco Simoncelli has died after a horrific crash at the Malaysian MotoGP in Sepang.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/motogp/15420069.stm


Nasty crash, same as Tomizawa's last year.

[opinionated ow]

RIP Marco. There are few that are braver.


(On a side note and I don't want to sound insensitive but both Dad and I agreed that he was one of those win or die trying types. Sadly his number came up early and in what was far from a self induced incident.)

[High Sided]

rip marco :(

[The Doctor]

Brave, bold, and a cool character... He will be missed. RIP Marco.

And I know this will be extremely tough for Valentino and Colin... The Doctor has been close friends with Super Sic for years.

[RTKar]

Geez, the theory of three's. Who's next? Talledega today too :confused:

[Ed_Severson]

Geez, the theory of three's. Who's next? Talledega today too :confused:

Don't forget Rick Huseman, who died in a helicopter crash last Sunday. And, as if that isn't enough, Michael Wanser passed away this morning, which is another huge hit for the IndyCar community.

What a **** week.

[Hard Driver]

Marco had a ton of talent! He was going to be world champion someday after gaining a bit of experience and patience. This is really awful. Not a good time to be a racing fan... Makes you wonder why you like to watch a sport where the risks are so high? I mean it all seems so pointless and meaningless in comparison to someone losing their life.

[Andrew Longman]

Makes you wonder why you like to watch a sport where the risks are so high? Motorcycle racing, especially at this level is something I always viewed about the same as cliff diving. How do you live long enough to get good at it and do it safely?

Of course it can be done, but it is hugely difficult -- which I guess is why I (we) appreciate the talent it takes.

I am so thankful racing is so much safer than it used to be. The safety innovations are to me just as much examples of incredible engineering as the things that make them go fast. In CART I got as much enjoyment/amazement at the safety as anything else. IRL not so much. Even MotoGP leathers, armor and such impress me given the protection they give.

But sadly there isn't much that can be gone when a following bike hits you in just the wrong place at speed.

RIP. Marco had the craziest hair in all of sport. As crazy as he rode. :shakehead

[trish]

:(

[RichK]

Like Dan Wheldon, Marco always made time for fans. So many Bay Area people are posting their pictures with him from Laguna.

A future World Champion in my opinion, with a Rossi-like enthusiastic personality - you could tell he loved his job.

RIP Marco.

[cameraman]

Damn.

[DagoFast]

This one is a real punch in the gut. Dagoboy needed some miles on his learners permit this summer so we did a 4300 mile road trip that included the USGP at Laguna Seca. He is a SuperSic fan and literally took thousands of pictures at the race.

I avoid the internets on race day so we sat down to watch this one after a nice breakfast totally unprepared for the outcome. The poor kid is taking it really hard. :(

RIP Marco and godspeed.

[Indy]

The Michael Wanser death is profoundly tragic. At least Marco and Dan were adults who accepted the risk, who were doing what they loved. But a little kid with cancer. That's the sort of thing that I have a difficult time accepting. God is good. Sure.

[Michaelhatesfans]

Simoncelli's father is calling for "a minute of noise" at the next race. I am COMPLETELY on board with this.:thumbup:

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/95826

[Ziggy]

That dude got whacked, never heard of him

but it was spectacular, and I was quite impressed with the effort of going fast