They say time heals all wounds, but the day Marco Simoncelli’s young life was tragically cut short in a horrible accident during the Malaysian Grand Prix in 2011 is a scar that still stings MotoGP a decade on.
Motorsport is often subject to ‘what-if’ scenarios, and one many MotoGP fans often ponder is: what would have happened had Simoncelli lived?
On 23 October 2021, he’d be nearing the end of his 12th season in the premier class – an elder statesman of a grid filled with fresh blood, ploughing the same tracks Simoncelli had when he made his MotoGP debut back in 2010 with the Gresini Honda squad. And what a trail he blazed.
Sport is built by the mavericks, the flamboyant personalities whom millions watching on feel instant, relatable connections with. Maybe they’re not always the most successful athletes, but they nevertheless capture minds and hearts, as well as drive television ratings. Simoncelli was a maverick, the ultimate made-for-TV sporting icon.
A lanky frame topped off by big hair, with the charm of a cheeky schoolboy, and a demonic talent on a motorcycle, Simoncelli oozed cool. When the BBC aired its tribute package to Simoncelli in the wake of his death, it was fitting they used the music of Jimi Hendrix to illustrate his personality on and off the track.
“First time I saw him I think was in Jerez, he was still racing in the 125cc with Aprilia,” recalls Hiroshi Aoyama, Simoncelli’s team-mate at Gresini in 2011, in conversation with Autosport.
“I remember he was really tall, but he was putting his elbow [down], his knees [down], bending, trying to be small in the bike and he was very fast in Jerez. I think he set a lap record. In these days I was already in 250cc, but I was watching this guy and I was thinking ‘woah, this guy is fast’.”
Marco Simoncelli, Metis Gilera, Hiroshi Aoyama, Scot Racing
Photo by: Motorsport Images
Simoncelli had marked himself out as a prodigious talent at home in Italy in mini-bikes, and later in 125cc road racing before expanding his reach at European level. He was given his 125cc grand prix debut at Brno in 2002, finishing an underwhelming 27th on an Aprilia. But he made his full-time debut in 2003, scoring points on a semi-regular basis before winning a wet Jerez race in 2004 – having taken his first pole the day before – when Casey Stoner crashed out in front of him.
It would be his only podium that year, but solid consistent top seven results meant he capped off the…
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