2011 R17 Sepang Race Topic ** Spoilers**

[ieism]

Very sorry for the loss. This must be horrible for anybody that knew him, his family especially.

I'm probably going to take some time off from watching motogp, this forum and mototheory. We'll see how I feel about things next season, but for now take care everybody.

Ivar

[Sloth27]

I'm having trouble putting words to it - I just feel so sad about it all. I rode my bike to work this morning and couldn't stop thinking about how hard it must be for Colin and Vale, it will be very tough for them.

The Gresini Racing press release said it best - "Ciao Super Sic".

I just encourage people to remember Simoncelli for what he was best at - racing with fearless enthusiasm right till the very end.

[Tourn46]

I also believe that I saw the helmet strap still done up, but detached from one side when the marshal was carrying it away.

Unfortunately, from my perspective, the equipment wasn't inadequate... it was simply a horrible, horrible accident... a culmination of wrong place, wrong time and the worst of luck.

I have advocated it numerous times before... but I genuinely think that these guys need tyres that work from the start (surely it's easier to manage gradual wear, than not know how hard you can push?)... not tyres that need to be worked hard to work. If we had "proper" tyres in MotoGP, I think we'd see less accidents.

[DJH]

I also believe that I saw the helmet strap still done up, but detached from one side when the marshal was carrying it away.

That seems to be the case. I just watched the telecast again to see the camera from Bautista.. but never again. That's it for me.

I served in Afghanistan and seen some wild, wild shit. But this one strikes me in the gut. Hard.

[RedJet]

Beautiful words here from you all. It is a comfort to have a place to come and grieve. I agree with Rats that we all do that in different ways and it is nice to know there is somewhere that is understood and accepted.

I've tried to write several times today and each time it was impossible. I had a hard time processing this and was admittedly surprised at how deeply I felt the loss. I realized today how much I really love racing and while I have my favorites they all are integral to make this such an amazing sport. Simi excited strong opinions, brought intrigue and as we know conflict to the race but he had really started to show what a force he would have been in 2012. I am so sorry for his family and friends. I have especially thought of Rossi and Edwards who I cannot begin to imagine what they must be going through.

Edwards has said tonight that he is holding up mentally but that he is very sorry to lose a friend and talented racer. He also reports that he has suspected fractures to wrists and ankles which will be x-rayed on Wednesday.

I also wanted to thank Rusty who in the midst of this tragedy took the time to warn me so I wouldn't watch the race unknowing (indeed I am not sure I ever will). It was a great act of kindness. And to Motomania - we are very fortunate to have such wonderful friends.



Race In Peace, Marco!

[tom]

RIP Marco.

On the helmet issue I suspect it was not going to end well for poor Marco irrispective of whether the helmet stayed on or not. I guess there is no point in in designing a helmet strap system to work beyond the forces involved in fatal injuries. The crash looked sickeningly fatal from the rear view we got on tv but the front view on that daily mail abomination of an article left absolutely no doubt that there was no hope anyone could survive that crash, no matter how their protective equipment was designed.

Incredibly sad day

[carty]

I had no words yesterday, now I have some;

Marco #58,
On the start line the lights go out,
Bold and daring,
Your crazy hair,
Your undeniable talent,
Your fearsome speed,
Lost to us all,
Riding the big racetrack in the sky for ever more,
After the lights went out

[RatsMC]

Thanks #58

[dmelb]

When we saw all gloomy faces of the riders and rest of the paddock; we had a very very bad feeling inside. I think this accident puts a few things into perspective for the riders, saw images of Casey Stoner next to his wife - you could almost read the thoughts in his head "what if that was me, what would be of my family and new born".

Steve Parris wrote on BBC that he felt Valentino would be so distraught over this incident, he might retire from MotoGP and the image on GPOne says so much.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/motogp/15421404.stm
My first thoughts - and this is absolutely my own gut feeling - are that Rossi could now retire. I know he will be mortified by Marco's death. They were close friends and had been for a long, long time.

Valentino, I take back all the $hit I hung on you, please please be strong. Don't retire.

[WayneG]

Valentino is not thinking of retiring. Both Uccio and Davide Brivio have tweeted that this is not the case.

UccioYellow46 UccioYellow46
Per quelli che lo chiedono, Vale non sta pensando assolutamente di smettere... Mi dispiace che girino queste notizie false in momenti così.

From Krop
What @UccioYellow46 just posted was "for those asking, Vale is absolutely not thinking of retiring. Very unhappy at wrong news like this"

Davide Brivio
Many are asking about Vale stopping races. This not absolutely true and I'm sorry even that I have to explain it…

So I think we can put that rumour to bed.

[frankrizzo]

Usual trite crap from Parrish, the guy's head is full of nothing.

[Tourn46]

Usual trite crap from Parrish, the guy's head is full of nothing.

That rumour only gathered pace after his blog came out... totally irresponsible thing to have said. If he believed that it was a possibility, that's fine but he shouldn't have said that publically.

[carty]

I'm not a big fan of Parrish either but to be fair, the comment I read from him on the BBC website said something like 'my first thought is that Rossi could retire after this'. He didn't say 'Rossi's just told me he's retiring'. It's people not reading things properly and re-posting them as chinese whispers that gives these rumours legs.

Anyway, however Rossi chooses to deal with the situation is personal and will become clear in time. He (from reading his book) is not the type to make snap decisions and is mature enough to come to what will be the right conclusion for himself.

EDIT: Just re-read the BBC article and I quote (from Parrish) 'My first thoughts - and this is absolutely my own gut feeling - are that Rossi could now retire'

[Tourn46]

He didn't say 'Rossi's just told me he's retiring'. It's people not reading things properly and re-posting them as chinese whispers that gives these rumours legs.

Absolutely, but he should have known better than to choose that time to bring it up. Saying that, it's pretty obvious from my previous posts about Parrish that I'm not a fan... so I apologise if that's clouding my opinion at the moment.

[WayneG]

I had recorded the race like I do all of them and just now went to replay it as I haven't felt able to up until now. When I opened the file i received the message "The file is corrupt and cannot be viewed. Do you want to delete the file?" I happily clicked yes. This is the only corrupted recording I have ever had. The world is full of irony.

[carty]

Absolutely, but he should have known better than to choose that time to bring it up. Saying that, it's pretty obvious from my previous posts about Parrish that I'm not a fan... so I apologise if that's clouding my opinion at the moment.

I agree that possibly he should have known better, but I think that some of the old school journalists / commentators possibly don't realise the force of modern digital media where comments are instantly available around the world for others to 'like', 'dislike', copy, paste 're-tweet', link to, etc, etc (probably missed out a whole load of other options seeing as I'm not up to speed with it all myself!). Anyway, sorry to stray off topic.

Cheers,
Matt

[WayneG]

He was by no means the only one hypothesising about Rossi and Edwards' future.

[Albert]

Very sorry for the loss. This must be horrible for anybody that knew him, his family especially.

I'm probably going to take some time off from watching motogp, this forum and mototheory. We'll see how I feel about things next season, but for now take care everybody.

Ivar

No doubt I’m not alone in feeling rather devastated by the tragic events that occurred yesterday at Sepang.
It feels rather closer to home because it’s happened to a good friend of people that we've come to know quite well.

You all know me as an unashamed Rossi Fan, but that’s only part of the story. It may give you a greater understanding if I relate something that I said when we were dining with some of the people of Tavullia back in 2002.
I’d been asked to give a speech to our hosts (for “asked” read “cajoled into it”) whilst one of the guys translated for the benefit of the rest!
Towards the end I made the comment, “We are Italians – just born in a different country!”

It went down a storm with my audience!

Some of you may scoff and think it was corny, I don’t particularly care, but I still stand by what I said that day! It’s our passion!

We sometimes wondered if we were unusual – and then we visited Tavullia and found like-minded people!
Suddenly we realised that we weren’t in a minority and that we were amongst people who we understood – and who understood us!

All the Italian people we’ve met have been generous to a fault and we find ourselves hurting when they hurt!

After what happened to Marco I find my interest in racing waning somewhat, maybe it’s just a gut reaction but I think it’s time I took a break from MotoGP sites in general and just sit back, spectate and let life and family take over!

[WayneG]

I understand your feelings Albert and all having similar thoughts. My only comment would be that the memory and passion of Marco and all the other heroes who have gone before him cannot burn on if we extinguish our own passion.

[frankrizzo]

I'm probably going to take some time off from watching motogp, this forum and mototheory. We'll see how I feel about things next season, but for now take care everybody.

After what happened to Marco I find my interest in racing waning somewhat, maybe it’s just a gut reaction but I think it’s time I took a break from MotoGP sites in general and just sit back, spectate and let life and family take over!

Guys, if it helps, these are normal things to feel. I have been close to guys who've been killed racing, coming from Ireland where a lot of guys race on closed roads, it happens a lot and I've been to too many funerals. I don't know how to articulate what's going on in your heads and hearts but we all feel it. I think part of it is we don't know who to blame but blame must be apportioned somewhere, that's human nature. So, consciously or not, we tend to blame the sport itself and it can get difficult to find the will to continue to support or participate in it. We all feel it to greater or less extent, the riders especially. The accident and the aftermath really tore my heart out, I get a lump in my throat looking at some of the great pictures that have been posted here and elsewhere. Bike racing is the best sport in the world, but sometimes things happen that nobody can do anything about.

[phil]

Very sorry for the loss. This must be horrible for anybody that knew him, his family especially. I'm probably going to take some time off from watching motogp, this forum and mototheory. We'll see how I feel about things next season, but for now take care everybody. Ivar

After what happened to Marco I find my interest in racing waning somewhat, maybe it’s just a gut reaction but I think it’s time I took a break from MotoGP sites in general and just sit back, spectate and let life and family take over![/b][/i]

I felt that way too.

Bike racing is the best sport in the world, but sometimes things happen that nobody can do anything about.

^^But thats the bottom line.

There are documented stages of dealing with loss, the first being denial and the second, I believe, is anger, I think we can see that within this and other forums.

[Squidpuppet]

There are documented stages of dealing with loss, the first being denial and the second, I believe, is anger, I think we can see that within this and other forums.

1. Denial
2. Anger
3. Bargaining
4. Depression
5. Acceptance

I'm going through 1,2,3 and 4 all at the same time.

RIP 58

[Squidpuppet]

I think this sums up why I (we) feel so connected to a man we have never met.

From the Los Angeles Times

There is a certain quote from Simoncelli that people are posting all over the web. Not sure what the original source was, but it seems to be bringing comfort to a lot of people.

When asked if he was afraid of dying in an accident, Simoncelli apparently responded:

#58 said
"No. You live more for five minutes going fast on a bike like that, than other people do in all of their life."

[Tormo4ever]

Sadness, anger, denial ... i just can t take the image of Paolo Simoncelli waiting for news outside the clinica mobile out of my head. My thoughts are mainly with him and Marco's mum and family.

It is conforting to be able to share these sad moments with you guys too, reading this thread has been quite uplifting. Thank you.

We all love this sport so much, but every now and then it shows us its ugliest face. So sad and unfair, a 24 yr old man in his prime ... He passed away doing what he loved most, holding on to those handlebars to the end. Marco Simoncelli, already a motorcycle racing legend. Rest in peace, Superpipo, ci vediamo, campione!!!

[marianbv]

The first ex-racer (and one of the greatest) to point a finger at somebody for this tragedy was Agostini, who stated for GPOne that if anybody, the tires are to be blamed for the loss of Marco. While that could have been just an immediate reaction under the influence of hot and hard feelings for the loss of a friend, it only comes to confirm my and others' (Tourn46 comes to mind) thoughts. With somewhat softer carcasses allowing wider contact patches and with a compound easier to bring up to optimum temperature the tragedy might (just might) have been avoided altogether or at least could have been turned into an incident with far lighter consequences.

Concerning taking a step back an not watching the remaining race of the season, I think we should ask ourselves what would be Marco's wish. To quit watching MotoGP and, in process, to make his tragic death pointless? Or to honor him and his sacrifice by continuing to be the same passionate fans of the sport?

The rest of my thoughts go to Colin and Valentino ... tough times for them to cope with the tragedy ...