Grand Prix Rejects

I know, I know. This is an F1 Forum, and I love that. But I love motor sports too, especially MotoGP. So here is the thread for discussion.

Unfortunately I'll open this on a solemn note.
I'm sure many of you will be aware of the absolutely horrific crash that has just occurred at the Sepang track, Malaysia. Marco Simoncelli has had the most terrifying crash I've witnessed. After the accident on lap two the race has been cancelled.

Please, please Marco, pull through mate. My thoughts and prayers are with you, your team and your family.

I've seen the crash on YouTube literally seconds before the video was pulled off. It does not look good at all.

Oh god.
Marco Simoncelli has succumbed to his injuries. RIP Marco. You were the brightest of talents, with the would at your feet.

Best wishes to his family and friends in the hardest of times.

R.I.P Marco.

First Dan and now this. RIP Marco

Oh god, not another.

This *****.

It's not irrelevant to F1. We may have our preferences as to which form of motorsport we like, but at the end of the day we are motorsport fans. And when one part of the motorsport community grieves, we all grieve.

I'm lost for words again. Why do such tragedies often happen in pairs? On the back of Dan Wheldon's passing this is horrific, awful news.

And to think that one of the other riders involved was Valentino Rossi, one of Simoncelli's friends and defenders, even when Marco had had his critics throughout the year. How terrible must it be for him, at the end of what has already been a dreadful year for Ducati.

RIP Marco, and our condolences to his family, friends and fans. A terrible way to end a black week in motorsport.

Absolutely awful. For anyone who doesn't follow motoGP, Marco was having a very good year and was quite an upcoming talent.
My thoughts lie with his family and friends, and especially Valentino Rossi and Colin Edwards who were unavoidably involved in the accident. I hope they can deal with the incident themselves.
Times like these almost make me question being a motorsports fan, but I know our sports can and will recover. Let's hope this causes a big drive in rider safety for motorcycling in all areas.

RIP Dan, Rick, Marco.

Oh no, not again.

Rest In Peace, Marco.

I dont think its the most appropriate topic to start a MotoGP thread over, however someone had to I guess...

Motorcycle racing carries a higher risk than most other racing, but we dont watch the sport to see people die or get severely injured, If I was that kind I would have gladly taken up watching horror films as a hobby.

"Most people go through life doing things badly, racing is important to those who do it well, when I'm out there, its racing, anything that happens before or afterwards is just waiting"

Two sad moments, so close to each other.

I cannot believe how dark this October in motorsports is turning into. First, Dan Wheldon and now, Marco Simoncelli... rest in peace, Marco.

I've just seen the accident on BBC iplayer. I wish I hadn't now as I feel absolutely sick. Poor guy.

Bathplug. I just heard it on Sky Sports News and there's absolutely no way in hell I'm watching the video of it. It sounds horrific. RIP Marco

That was a horrendous accident. I also watched it on BBC iPlayer, and what I saw was absolutely terrifying.

Spare a thought for Rossi too, who was Simoncelli's main defender and friend and for him to be involved in the incident must be soul destroying.

RIP Marco, you were a rising star. How cruel.

What a terrible month of October for motorsport...


RIP Simoncelli...

I just read that the spectators threw bottles at the track to show their displeasure at the race being red flagged. How awful that 'fans' would do such a thing, as any red flag situation should be taken seriously. It cannot be condoned.

TomPryce wrote:I just read that the spectators threw bottles at the track to show their displeasure at the race being red flagged. How awful that 'fans' would do such a thing, as any red flag situation should be taken seriously. It cannot be condoned.

In their defence Tom, I think the majority of the blame for this must land with the circuit announcers/promoters. Yes, the crowd did get rather annoyed when an announcement was aired about the race being completely cancelled. But the fans were kept completely in the dark during the whole process. The replay of the accident was not played on the big screens for some time and when the announcement was put over the public announcement system they were not given any reason why it was cancelled. Really, the announcer should have stated that the medical staff were in attendance with an injured rider in the medical centre.

Regardless, this is a dark, terrible day for motorsport. I'm still numb... I can't imagine what it would be like for someone close to Marco. God speed.

Oh no. This is just terrible. I'm distraught. I was watching the RWC final and then read this afterwards. Horrendous.

I can't put it into words, just that this is a complete tragedy. RIP Marco.

This is the first time we lose a racer in any kind of motorsport whom I actually never liked while he was racing. In the end it's still the very same shocking feeling after reading this. Rest in Peace, Marco!

Before this year, I'd never really supported any non-Australian riders or any rider who wasn't on a Suzuki. However earlier this year I started to support Simoncelli because of his exciting riding style and the fact that he was riding for a non-factory team and was mixing it with the factory backed riders. Last week's Australian GP where Simoncelli finished second to Stoner for me the best motorsports moment of the year. It's tragic to think that just one week after that race that we would be mourning the loss of Simoncelli. When I saw the incident it reminded me of Shoya Tomizawa's tragic crash in Moto2 last year and I immediately feared the worst for Marco. I have no doubt in my mind that Simoncelli would have been a multiple race winner and possibly a world champion. However as with the death of Daijiro Kato some 7-8 years ago we'll never find out.

This is so sad! I am slightly annoyed that it seemed to be ignoed by the commentatos on the BBC feed. They were interested in getting the race restarted. The announcement that he had regained conciousness seemed odd.

After the Wheldon incident I am absolutely gutted, as with everyone else my thoughts go out to the families of those lost in this horrendous week for motorsport and it shows that despite all the safety improvements there are still dangers in motorsport.

I really hope we see a tribute at the next F1 event as all motorsports are linked. It shows that we are lucky in F1, these things can happen and I wish the best to the Simoncelli family. He was a pleasure to watch with his exciting aggresive style, he had such a bright future ahead of him.

R I P Marco!!!! 58

I've been watching the qualifying session yesterday and saw Simoncelli doing so well.
I woke up and first thing I wanted to check is Marco's position (he qualified 5th so I was expecting a podium finish), but instead of the results, Simoncelli's death was all over the news.
Horrible death. I can't even imagine what Edwards and Rossi are feeling at the moment
R.I.P. I'll miss the afro and #58, but also the up and coming rider Marco was.

It's horrifying how many great and titled racers are passing away. Dan Wheldon, Rick Huseman and now Marco Simoncelli.

It's been a horrible few days.

RIP Marco

Absolutely tragic, RIP Marco.

MotoGP is going the same way as F1 with the boring PR-friendly speaking riders with no emotion. Marco was one of those still not afraid to say what he thought, combined with his brilliant flair on the track, we've lost a real star who could have gone on to much better things.

Can we change the title of this thread?

fjackdaw wrote:Can we change the title of this thread?

I agree, while I would love to discuss motogp with the forum I think this thread had the sole intention of discussing marco, and with no detriment to sauber010 I think the two should be seperate topics

fjackdaw wrote:Can we change the title of this thread?

The Marco Somincelli MotoGP Thread.

So sad to hear the passing of another quality sportsman. Simoncelli was only 24, the same age as me. RIP Marco, go race with Rick and Dan in the skies.

Sauber010 wrote:

TomPryce wrote:I just read that the spectators threw bottles at the track to show their displeasure at the race being red flagged. How awful that 'fans' would do such a thing, as any red flag situation should be taken seriously. It cannot be condoned.

In their defence Tom, I think the majority of the blame for this must land with the circuit announcers/promoters. Yes, the crowd did get rather annoyed when an announcement was aired about the race being completely cancelled. But the fans were kept completely in the dark during the whole process. The replay of the accident was not played on the big screens for some time and when the announcement was put over the public announcement system they were not given any reason why it was cancelled. Really, the announcer should have stated that the medical staff were in attendance with an injured rider in the medical centre.

Regardless, this is a dark, terrible day for motorsport. I'm still numb... I can't imagine what it would be like for someone close to Marco. God speed.

I remember being in a grandstand at Brands Hatch on the day Henry Surtees died. After his accident, they did not show any replays of it on the big screen, but rather highlights of the action to that point, and the only news relayed to the public trackside was that the action had to be paused to allow the medical helicopter to take off and then the action would restart with the next event on the timetable. I think that at Le Mans in 1955, those not in the vicinity of the accident were equally oblivious of the severity of the accident. But to throw bottles in that circumstance is still not acceptable.

However, RIP Marco.

patrick wrote:

fjackdaw wrote:Can we change the title of this thread?

I agree, while I would love to discuss motogp with the forum I think this thread had the sole intention of discussing marco, and with no detriment to sauber010 I think the two should be seperate topics

Completely understandable. Name changed. Sorry for the original mistake.

Sauber010 wrote:

patrick wrote:

fjackdaw wrote:Can we change the title of this thread?

I agree, while I would love to discuss motogp with the forum I think this thread had the sole intention of discussing marco, and with no detriment to sauber010 I think the two should be seperate topics

Completely understandable. Name changed. Sorry for the original mistake.

Quite alright, thanks chap

This is really sad, Marco was one of my favourite MotoGP riders. I didn't follow the series that much, but I rooted for the guy because I thought he was a real talent who only needed one real shot to prove his worth, even admist all his detractors. That he was so cruelly taken with a Honda ride to look forward to next year is just beyond words.

RIP Marco.

R.I.P.

I don't follow motoGP so i have no idea who he was, but death is always terrible, no matter who it is.

Poor Marco. He was starting to show his true potential in the Moto GP class, and it looked like he was finally going to win his first race in that category. Rest in peace.

It reminds me of Henri Toivonen. Both were just about to make their big breakthrough in fighting for the world championships, rebellious young drivers who drove at 110% non-stop. And then this happens...

RIP Marco Simoncelli.

What can I say that haven't been said already? RIP Marco Simoncelli. I just hope we can now go onto a very long and blissful time with no more tragedies.

When it rains, it pours. It's always the worst when the motor racing world is recovering from the first incident then the uppercut to the chin happens. It's the same feeling I had in 2009.

Rest in peace Marco, one of the brightest stars of your craft.

kostas22 wrote:It reminds me of Henri Toivonen. Both were just about to make their big breakthrough in fighting for the world championships, rebellious young drivers who drove at 110% non-stop. And then this happens...

RIP Marco Simoncelli.

Indeed, well said. But let's hope this doesn't have the same effect on motoGP that Henri's death had on Group B. As horrible as this is, MotoGP has a chance here, after Marco and Shoya, to prove it can improve rider safety - and I do believe there is more they can do, in terms of stronger leathers, better neck protection and helmets that cover a wider area.

I had the misfortune to see the accident live on Star sports, and had that familiar 'gut wrench' when you just know it is gonna be very very bad. This has been a very black week, and it feels like the old days.....
R.I.P Marco. MotoGP, and indeed the world, has lost a great great character.

Of course it goes without saying that I am in complete agreement with everyone else on here about this, Marco was one of the only true 'characters' in the MotoGP field,
and made lots of fans this season by actually daring to take on the big boys, ruffling their feathers on several occasions, which certainly endeared him to me.

I think the effect was made even more harrowing by cutting away from a shot of him prone on the track to shortly show his girfriend's reaction. Just heartbreaking.

Having watched pretty much all of the BBC coverage, I felt that Charlie and Steve could instantly tell it was likely to be fatal and were very restrained, and it wasn't until
they reported that he had regained conciousness (which I struggled to believe) that they then started to discuss the race restating, and even showed a few replays. There was
one point when I think the crash was shown on the big screens and you could hear the crowd gasping, and I was disgusted to hear the booing when the announcement was made
that the race was cancelled. I guess those people feel pretty bad about doing that now however.

I hope the incident doesn't weigh too heavily on Rossi and Edwards, these are two of the most experienced guys in the class, and may have already had eyes on their futures
after racing, I know Colin has signed for next season (and I guess Rossi has at least a year left with Ducati) but wouldn't be surprised if he has serious thoughts about retiring.

R.I.P. Marco. I will miss you.