Marco Simoncelli has died following a horrific accident during the Malaysian Grand Prix on Sunday, with the Gresini man being rushed to the medical centre after losing his helmet in a clash with Valentino Rossi and Colin Edwards.
The Italian was treated by doctors for a long period of time, but despite their best efforts, he succumbed to his injuries. The MotoGP and motorsport fraternity is now in deep mourning, just days after Dan Wheldon's fatal IndyCar crash in Las Vegas.
Simoncelli was contesting his ninth full season in the World Championship, after entering the 125cc class for a six-race stint in 2002. His first title glory came in 2008 for the Metis Gilera squad (250cc), going on to back it up with a third place finish the following year. He then stepped up to MotoGP, graduating with Gresini for 2010.
A consistent points scoring year for Simoncelli saw him finish inside the top ten during 12 of the 18 races, with his best result coming at the penultimate Estoril round. Simoncelli was then transformed into a victory contender in 2011 and, despite some early crashes, the Italian had amassed 139 points, including two podiums.
Having qualified fifth fastest at Sepang, Simoncelli was fighting for fourth place when he lost control of his Honda machinery and veered into the path of his rivals. Rossi and Edwards did their best to avoid colliding, but instead ran into the 24-year-old.
Carmelo Ezpeleta (CEO of MotoGP rights holders Dorna Sports), called off the proposed restart when Simoncelli's condition was revealed as 'critical', before the Cattolica rider was pronounced dead at 4.56pm local time (BST +7).
All at GPUpdate.net extend their sincerest condolences to the family, friends and colleagues of Marco Simoncelli: 1987-2011.
Latest development:
Simoncelli's death a result of multiple injuries
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