Honda Gresini’s Hiroshi Aoyama expresses sorrow on loss of teammate Marco Simoncelli – MotoGP news
San Carlo Honda Gresini rider Hiroshi Aoyama shared his deep pain on the death of teammate Marco Simoncelli.
The 24-year-old Italian died due to severe injuries sustained during the Malaysian Grand Prix last Sunday.
Aoyama said, “He has been my rival since the 250cc’s and since we both started in MotoGP class, I could feel the tension in between us and we were always aware of each other as rookies. And now, we have been competing in the same championship as a team mate.”
Simoncelli had a low side fall during the second lap of the race, running in front of Colin Edwards of Monster Yamaha Tech3 and Valentino Rossi of the Ducati Team.
The Japanese rider was shocked to hear the declaration of his death. The young Italian fought with his injuries but unfortunately lost the battle.
Aoyama was speechless at the occasion and somehow shared his words with the media. He described his pain on the unrecoverable loss for the Honda Gresini team and MotoGP.
The Japanese Honda Gresini rider added, “He is such an openhearted person, no matter where he is. I know everyone had a high expectation of him since he has been performing so well. He is loved by so many people and I know why. Last week he came second and
was on the podium.”
Super Sic had a strong spirit for racing, as he always aimed to push hard in the race. Somehow, the 2011 season was not going well for him.
Despite a below-par run of form, he scored first two podiums of his MotoGP career in this season. His first podium was at Brno and the second improved podium finish was at the Australian GP.
This time at Malaysia he was again strong, aiming to get his first victory in premier class or at least take another podium finish.
Aoyama also condoled with Simoncelli’s family on the loss of their young son. Super Sic’s parents mourned Sunday’s incident.
The Honda Gresini team and team owner Fausto Gresini were extremely sorrowed on the occasion. He recently signed a contract with HRC for 2012 MotoGP season and was going to test RC213V following the race day.
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