San Carlo Honda Gresini rider Marco Simoncelli fighting for podium in 2011 MotoGP season
San Carlo Honda Gresini rider Marco Simoncelli started his 2011 MotoGP season pursuit to achieve his first podium in the premier class of motorcycle racing.
The young Italian rider initiated his season with hard work and an improved pace to challenge his rivals. Entering the inter season test at Valencia he came fifth and fourth in the two day test session. This marked his first glimpse of an improved pace.
Coming to the first preseason MotoGP test at Sepang International Circuit the premier class riders headed to Malaysia. During the first test session the Italian was fourth and fifth in the first two days of the test, but his determination was seen on the
third day when he topped the time charts. The improvement was significant enough to rank him at the top in the overall time sheet.
The second preseason test was held at the same venue, SIC. The Italian started the session with gradual improvement. For the first day he was only able to secure eighth position on the time sheet. The second day was little better to give him sixth position
and the final day at Malaysia testing ranked him in third place behind two Repsol Honda riders.
The final preseason test was held at Qatar just ahead of season inaugural round that was to take place at Losail. The final test session was at Losail and it took him time to adjust with the circuit demands. On the first day he was far down at 11th position
and on the final day he scored a fourth position, being the fastest satellite Honda rider.
The first MotoGP round commenced at Qatar. Super Sic was fast through the race weekend and secured fourth place in the grid. After a tough battle with compatriot Andrea Dovizioso from Repsol Honda, Simoncelli settled for fifth place in the race.
The second event of the premier class season was held at Jerez, Spain. The Spanish round was affected by rain and cost some riders to retire after crash. Marco Simoncelli who jumped to lead the race from fifth on the grid crashed after few laps to the race
start. It was his first ‘did not finish’ out of four in the season.
Coming to third round in the season at Estoril, Portugal the Italian was strong aboard his RC212V. Super Sic marked his best qualifying seat at second position on the grid. However he hit disaster when he crashed in the first lap of the race. It was second
event in the row with no points for Simoncelli.
The French GP was the worse round of the season for Super Sic. He crashed Dani Pedrosa out of second position in the race. Though Simoncelli was fast and competitive but his aggressive racing tactics cost him to face a ‘ride through’ penalty and finish fifth
across the line.
In the sixth MotoGP event at Catalunya he scored his first pole seat in the season and finished sixth in the event.
At Silverstone he was fast again and claimed second seat on the grid but unfortunately he crashed in the wet race after pushing hard for the lead.
At the Assen GP, he secured his second pole seat in the season but finished poorly at ninth place in the event. At his home event in Mugello he was determined to perform well. Though he did in QP session with third position but the race was a bad day for
him and he finished fifth.
At Sachsenring, Super Sic claimed fourth seat in QP session and finished sixth in the race. The last event before summer break was at Laguna Seca where he crashed out from fifth place on the grid just after six laps.
Yet the best round for Super Sic has been the Brno event. The Czech GP was the milestone for his first MotoGP podium from fifth place on the grid.
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