Marco Simoncelli's MotoGP team to compete in Spain

November 01, 2011 8:23AM

TRIBUTE: Teammates grieve for Italian driver Marco Simoncelli who was killed in a fatal crash (inset) at the Malaysian MotoGP last month. Source: AP

MARCO Simoncelli's Gresini Racing team have had a change of heart and decided to compete in this weekend's season-ending Valencia Grand Prix as a tribute to the Italian MotoGP star, who died this month in Malaysia.

"The decision to participate was not an easy one, but we have made this choice as it is what Marco would have wanted,'' team owner Fausto Gresini told the sport's official website www.motogp.com on Monday.

Initially Simoncelli's team had been due to miss Valencia following the tragedy in Sepang on October 23.

"Going out on track at Valencia is definitely the best way to honour him by doing what he most loved to do: Ride and experience the world of MotoGP,'' said Gresini.

"This is why I believe that the best show of affection that we can make to Marco is by lining up our teams and riders for this race.''

Japanese rider Hiroshi Aoyama will start in the MotoGP race with Michele Pirro and Yuki Takahashi competing in Moto2.

'''Super Sic' will be present in the hearts of Hiroshi Aoyama, Michele Pirro and Yuki Takahashi, and I am sure that they will give him a most fitting tribute with their performances on Sunday,'' Gresini concluded.

Simoncelli lost his life after crashing on the second lap at the Sepang circuit where he had clinched the 2008 Moto2 title.

His team's presence on the grid in Spain promises to serve up a hugely poignant conclusion to the 2011 MotoGP season.

Edwards 'couldn't avoid Simoncelli'

November 01, 2011 11:23PM

Tragic moment: Italy's Marco Simoncelli (foreground left) slides across the track as Colin Edwards (centre) and Valentino Rossi (right) round turn 11 during the Malaysian MotoGP

COLIN Edwards has accepted there was nothing he could have done to avoid Marco Simoncelli in the crash that killed the Italian.

The 24-year-old MotoGP rider lost control and veered across the Sepang track into the path of Edwards and his fellow Italian Valentino Rossi minutes after the Malaysian Grand Prix began on October 23.

He suffered fatal head, neck and chest injuries.

"I have asked myself a thousand questions since the crash. What might have happened if I had reacted differently? Could I have done anything else? But I've watched the footage again and I know there is absolutely nothing I could have done to avoid Marco," Edwards, who dislocated his shoulder in the incident, said in an interview with La Gazzetta dello Sport.

"And Valentino (Rossi) could do nothing either.

"It is hard to lose a friend. We lost a shining star. Marco was loved by all the supporters for his personality, his character, his charisma," Edwards added.

Simoncelli's death moved the Italian sporting world, and thousands of fans attended his funeral last Thursday in his hometown of Coriano, near Rimini.