Marco Simoncelli

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Marco simoncelli
No free image
Nationality	Italian
Date of birth	January 20, 1987 (1987-01-20) (age 21)[1]
Place of birth	Cattolica, Italy
250cc World Championship Record
Current team	Metis Gilera
Bike number	58
World Championships
Race starts	85
Race Wins	2
Podium finishes	7
Pole positions	3
Fastest laps	2
Championship Points	97 in 2007
2007 Championship position	10th

Marco Simoncelli (born January 20, 1987 in Cattolica) is Italian Grand Prix motorcycle road racer. He currently rides a Gilera in the 250cc World Championship, and has previously raced in the 125cc class. He has one race win in each.

Contents 1 Early Career 2 Move to 250cc 2.1 2008 Italian GP Controversy 2.2 Second 250cc victory 3 Second 250cc victory 4 Career Statistics 4.1 By season 4.2 Races by year 5 External links

[edit] Early Career

He won European 125cc title in 2002, also making 6 appearances in the 125cc World Championship. In the following year, he moved to the World Championship full-time. His best result was a fourth place in the season finale at the Valencia Grand Prix.

In 2004, he took his first victory in wet weather in the Spanish Grand Prix at Jerez. This was only highlight of his season, and he ended in 11th place in the final standings. In 2005 he won at Jerez again, this time in dry conditions. This result and five other podium finishes helped him to come fifth overall.

[edit] Move to 250cc

In 2006 he was only front-runner to move to 250cc class, riding for Gilera, who made their return to the class. His first season was good although not brilliant. In most races he finished between 7th and 10th place. His best result was 6th place in the Chinese Grand Prix at Shanghai. He fought for the "Rookie of the Year" title until the end, only to lose it to Shuhei Aoyama by seven points. In final standings he was 10th.

In 2007 he continued with the same team. His season was similar to previous one, and he was again 10th in final standings, without a podium finish.

[edit] 2008 Italian GP Controversy

He took his first 250cc win at the Italian GP held at Mugello on 1 June 2008 in controversial circumstances when, with 1 lap to go, he leaned over to the left on the long straight, possibly to block off Hector Barbera. Barbera then crashed into him and he won the race by 3 seconds with Barbera lucky to emerge unscathed from the accident. Some people have made a call for him to be sanctioned but he escaped without any penalty. On June 7 he got a verbal warning from the MotoGP Riders Safety Commission.

[edit] Second 250cc victory

On 8 June 2008 he followed that up with another victory at the Grand Prix de Catalunya after overtaking Alvaro Bautista on the last lap after the Spanish pilot ran wide with 5 corners of the race left.

[edit] Second 250cc victory

On 8 June 2008 he followed that up with another victory at the Grand Prix de Catalunya after overtaking Alvaro Bautista on the last lap after Bautista ran wide with 5 corners of the race left.

[edit] Career Statistics

[edit] By season

Season	Class	Moto	Races	Win	Podiums	Pole	FLap	Pts	Position
2002	125cc	Aprilia	6	0	0	0	0	3	33rd
2003	125cc	Aprilia	15	0	0	0	0	31	21st
2004	125cc	Aprilia	13	1	1	2	0	79	11th
2005	125cc	Aprilia	16	1	6	1	1	177	5th
2006	250cc	Gilera	16	0	0	0	0	92	10th
2007	250cc	Gilera	17	0	0	0	0	97	10th
Total			83	2	7	3	1	479	0

[edit] Races by year

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position)(Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

[edit] External links

marcosimoncelli.it Official website (Italian)